"Are you here to purchase the services of the Pokémon Breeding House?"
Looking at the hesitant knight in front of him, not knowing how to begin, Aven asked with a smile.
Relieved, Leon quickly nodded. "Can I also buy services from the Pokémon Breeding House?"
"Of course you can. The Breeding House has clear prices. As long as you pay for a service, you'll receive it."
Hearing this, a happy expression appeared on Leon's face, and he said eagerly, "I'd like to purchase a service from the Breeding House!"
Aven nodded silently, patted the Petilil in his arms to keep it training with the Oddish on the field, and then led Leon toward the farm.
Once they arrived, Aven had Leon sit down and took out the price list for the Breeding House.
Since the Breeding House hadn't been formally established yet, the farm served as a temporary office for now.
Leon calmly accepted the price list, but his expression quickly froze.
Pokémon Foster Care Service: 1 gold coin per day.
Pokémon Basic Training Service: 1 gold coin per hour.
Leon was dumbfounded by the listed prices. They were outrageously high!
And this was just for basic training.
Targeted Move Training Service: Price based on difficulty level...
Was this really the standard pricing for a Breeding House? How had Peter been able to afford this?
Leon felt a wave of frustration.
In the end, did his savings not even compare to that of an ordinary villager?
Or were the villagers of Fruitvale Village just that wealthy and unconcerned about money?
He took a deep breath to calm himself and looked at the section for Pokémon food.
First were various types of berries—some familiar, some not.
But when he saw the prices, he froze again.
Take the common Oran Berry, for example. Normally it cost about 50 copper coins, but here it was listed at 500 copper coins—ten times the usual price!
This was highway robbery. Leon was speechless, feeling like he had walked into a scam.
He looked toward the young man he now considered a ruthless businessman, only to see Aven gesture calmly with his chin, motioning him to continue reading.
Still filled with doubt, Leon glanced to the bottom of the price list—and suddenly saw something.
Members receive a 90% discount.
It even had a note explaining what that meant.
Leon was stunned. He quickly rechecked the prices and did the math:
Pokémon Foster Care Service: 1 silver coin per day.
Pokémon Basic Training Service: 1 silver coin per hour.
With that discount, the prices were still high but much more acceptable.
"If I want my Mightyena to learn the move Sucker Punch, how much would that cost?" Leon asked first after a moment of thought.
Instead of answering directly, Aven said, "The cost to learn a move depends on many factors. Different Pokémon have different potentials, and that affects the price."
"For example, Peter's Mightyena is extremely talented and only needed two days to grasp the basics of Sucker Punch, so the discounted cost was just 10 gold coins."
"But for one of the scout unit's Mightyena from your knight corps, which had average talent, the cost was higher—50 gold coins after discount."
"As for those noble-owned Mightyena, their aptitude is so poor that even if they offered me more gold coins, I wouldn't teach them."
The price list Aven used was based on the ones from Pokémon Breeding Houses in his previous life, with slight modifications, so it was detailed and comprehensive.
Leon nodded slightly, finding the pricing scheme fairly reasonable—though still steep.
Then he asked, "Are there any suitable moves my Rhydon could learn?"
As he asked this, his eyes lit up. He thought of Aven's Rhydon and wondered how much it would cost to raise his to that level.
"You want your Rhydon to learn Earth Power?" Aven saw right through Leon's thoughts.
Leon didn't hesitate and nodded. After seeing Earth Power in action, there was probably no knight who wouldn't be tempted.
"That would still depend on its aptitude," Aven replied.
"But if it's your Rhydon, then 1,000 gold coins—and I might consider teaching you."
Leon was instantly stunned.
1,000 gold coins—that would be several years' income for many lords.
As for him, a mere knight, he might never make that much money in a lifetime.
Aven simply shrugged. The move Earth Power was rare and valuable—it deserved that price.
What Aven didn't mention was that Leon's Rhydon actually had a decent Ground-type talent. If it didn't, the price would've been even higher.
After all, Earth Power greatly enhanced a Pokémon's control over Ground-type energy and served as the foundation for learning many other Ground-type moves.
Moreover, Earth Power was a move that Rhydon could almost never learn on its own. It required a special training method, which added to the cost.
"Then… are there other moves my Rhydon could learn?" Leon asked in a slightly dejected tone.
Aven thought for a moment and replied, "Your Rhydon has decent Rock-type talent too. It could learn Rock Slide. If you still want a Ground-type move, Mud-Slap is also an option."
He then explained the effects and costs of the moves, which left Leon pleasantly surprised.
He had assumed Aven's knowledge was limited to Sucker Punch and Earth Power, but to his surprise, Aven also had training methods for Rock Slide and Mud-Slap.
Rock Slide, in particular, caught his attention—Vice-Captain Todd's Rhydon had mastered it, but only after evolving.
The knight corps didn't have any training method for it.
Leon recalled Rock Slide's impressive power and became tempted. It could significantly enhance his Rhydon's combat ability.
And the cost to learn it was 15 gold coins—still within his budget.
(End of Chapter)