"Hello?"

A young woman's voice came from the other end of the line. Despite its youthful tone, there was an undercurrent of exhaustion.

Lin Feng asked politely, "Hi there, is this Shuang Shuang Cake Shop?"

"Yes. I'm very sorry, but if you're calling about the storefront, I'm afraid it's already been taken over by a company just a little while ago."

"What?" Lin Feng felt as if a stone dropped into his chest. "Then what about the Alcremie? What's happening with them?"

"They… no one wanted them. I was planning to take them back with me to the Hoenn region… wait, are you calling about the Alcremie?"

"Phew…" Lin Feng let out a long sigh of relief. "Yes, yes, I'm interested in the Alcremie. I don't need the shop itself."

There was a brief silence on the other end, then the woman seemed to breathe out as if in relief. "Alright. Understood. I have thirteen Alcremie here. How many do you want?"

"Thirteen?" Lin Feng's eyes lit up even more. "Can I… take them all?"

"All of them? I'd be a little uneasy about that. Could you tell me where you're located? Maybe we could meet and talk in person."

Lin Feng immediately gave her his address.

"So you're at Neighbor's Breeding House in Wutong Town? Once the rain stops, I'll bring them over."

With that, she hung up.

"Wuhu!" Lin Feng let out a cheer right where he stood, startling the little Alolan Vulpix in his arms. She jerked in surprise, accidentally knocking over the cup and spilling juice onto Lin Feng's lap, leaving behind a chilly, sticky sensation.

Lin Feng: …

Vulpix: "Ying ying!?"

Σ(っ °Д °;)っ: I didn't mean to, Trainer…

…

After the rain,

She arrived far sooner than he'd expected. Barely half an hour after the drizzle stopped, a small car pulled up outside the breeding house.

A young woman of around twenty-six or twenty-seven stepped out of the car. She wore a white trench coat and pulled it closer around her as she glanced toward the building in front of her.

Her name was Kori. She wasn't a native of the Donghua League, but originally from the Kanto region. A few years ago, her grandfather had fallen ill, so she'd accompanied him when they moved here so he could recuperate.

But just recently, her grandfather had passed away.

With his passing, Kori no longer felt any attachment to the Donghua League.

The only thing that still weighed on her mind was the group of Alcremie that had stayed by her side here.

Crossing the sea was no small risk for delicate Pokémon.

She'd been trying to rehome them online for quite some time, but in the end, she'd only managed to give away seven or eight Alcremie.

It wasn't that people weren't interested. Most folks just wanted Alcremie for the cream they produced and only on a short-term basis.

And for situations like that, Kori simply didn't feel comfortable letting them go.

In the end, she was left with thirteen Alcremie and had been gritting her teeth, preparing to risk taking them back home with her, when Lin Feng's call came through.

Before coming over, Kori had searched for his breeding house online and was surprised to discover it even had its own Douyin account.

Curiosity piqued, she scrolled through the videos and was even more astonished by what she saw.

This seemingly obscure breeding house in a remote little town housed so many rare Pokémon.

The graceful Milotic gliding through shimmering water, the Psychic-type Gardevoir, and the Servine whose Grass-type moves could sweep across such a wide range…

And under every video, the comments were nothing but praise.

No complaints at all. Only glowing reviews about fair prices and how gorgeous the Pokémon were.

Hearing the sound of the car engine cut off, Lin Feng rushed out of the breeding house. "Hello!"

Kori paused in surprise at the sight. "You're the owner of this breeding house?"

The young man standing before her looked barely eighteen, yet he'd already managed to run a breeding business so smoothly and professionally.

Lin Feng chuckled. "Yep, that's me. Come on in. Let's talk inside."

Kori nodded and stepped into the breeding house. She'd been about to look around and take in her surroundings, but the moment she entered, her eyes were drawn immediately to the sight before her.

Floating gently in midair were rows of energy cubes, sorted into neat categories and distributed across various display counters.

At the very center of them all hovered a Gardevoir.

It was obvious that Gardevoir was using its psychic powers to manage and sort the cubes.

Even though Kori had already seen glimpses of this on Douyin, the real-life sight still left her amazed.

Such precise psychic control meant this Gardevoir was undoubtedly quite powerful.

Following Lin Feng further inside, they stepped into the living room.

Kori couldn't help but remark, "So you really are as young as you look in the videos!"

"Huh?" Lin Feng blinked, then let out a couple of soft laughs. "Would you like something to drink? I've got juice or fresh milk. I'd recommend the juice, though it's very sweet."

"Juice, please."

Lin Feng went to the fridge and brought out a sealed cup of Sweet Bounsweet-brand juice and handed it over.

Kori had only intended to take a cautious sip but the moment the juice touched her tongue, something changed.

All her life, it had always been her grandfather who took care of her.

Otherwise, she'd never have crossed the sea and traveled thousands of kilometers all the way to the Donghua League…

These past few days, arranging her grandfather's funeral, keeping vigil, and grappling with her grief had left her completely drained.

She hadn't been able to sleep for nights.

But now, after just one sip of this juice, she felt her mood lifting if only slightly.

"This juice… it's incredible."

Lin Feng smiled. "Isn't it true that the food made possible by Pokémon can soothe the soul?"

From the moment she'd entered, he'd noticed the deep sorrow etched into her expression. That's why he'd offered her the juice.

At that moment, a tiny figure peeked out from the kitchen.

Beneath a canopy of green leaves was tender, pale fruit flesh. It tiptoed forward quickly toward Lin Feng, but upon spotting a stranger beside him, it immediately slowed its pace.

Even its voice turned cautious as it spoke, "Tian tian?"

"Tian tian~" (I'm done with my bath. I want to go find Popplio.)

"Go ahead," said Lin Feng, waving his hand. "Just be careful not to fall into the reservoir again."

"Tian tian~!"

Bounsweet chirped in reply, then scampered off on its tiny feet, accelerating toward the plantation.

Watching this, Kori blinked, then broke into a smile. "I thought so that's juice from a Bounsweet, right?"

Lin Feng nodded. "That's right. I'm really passionate about cooking. That's why I want to raise lots of Pokémon who can help create delicious food. Of course, I'll take good care of them."

"…I can see that," Kori said softly. "Looks like leaving the Alcremie with you might really be the right choice."

She nodded again, remembering the MooMoo Milk she'd glimpsed outside. Clearly, this breeder knew how to make good use of the cream Alcremie could produce.

A touch of relief finally appeared on her face. She reached for a belt around her waist a belt fitted with Poké Balls and began removing them one by one.

"These are their Poké Balls. I haven't had them for very long. They're all such sweet little ones. If you could… maybe record some videos of them after you've taken them in, and post them on Douyin, I'd really appreciate it. That way, when I'm missing them in the future, I'll still be able to see how they're doing."

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Love the story? Show your support and unlock early access to new chapters by joining me on Patreon! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!

[email protected]/_tey

Change @ to a.