The morning sunlight poured into the courtyard of Carver's breeding house, marking the official beginning of a new day of business.
At this hour, trainers on their journeys were probably just waking up from their sleeping bags, preparing breakfast for themselves and their Pokémon.
Since there weren't many customers in the shop, Carver leisurely prepared breakfast for himself and his Pokémon.
For Bewear, there were berries and Pokémon biscuits.
For Growlithe, there was fresh Moomoo Milk...
And for Oddish, berries and snacks.
As a Grass-type Pokémon, Oddish, like most other Grass-types, didn't really need human food. It could grow simply by doing photosynthesis, absorbing nutrients from the soil, and basking in moonlight.
But for a Trainer's Pokémon, that wasn't enough. Only with proper nutrition could they grow strong and healthy.
Right now, the breeding house was still in its early stages of restoration. Carver planned to use this time to study Pokémon breeding knowledge and herbal medicine.
Once he mastered the creation of Pokéblocks and the mixing of herbal medicine, he could custom-make Pokémon food based on each Pokémon's specific needs.
After breakfast, the breeding house officially opened for business.
The newly hatched Growlithe was curious about everything around it. It ran all over the place, exploring every corner of the breeding house.
The nocturnal Oddish returned to the herb garden, found a nice shady spot, and used Ingrain to bury its face in the soil and go to sleep.
Bewear, with a broom in its hand, followed Growlithe around, cleaning up the little paw prints it left on the floor with a somewhat helpless expression.
Watching his lively Pokémon, Carver smiled and then turned around to grab his blackboard, adding some new information to it.
[Breeding House Main Services]
Pokémon Daycare
Move Tutoring (Current Moves Available: Baby-Doll Eyes, Tackle, Sleep Powder, Swords Dance)
Egg Breeding (By leaving two Pokémon of the same egg group and different genders at the breeding house, they can produce stronger offspring through egg breeding.)
Rare Item Trading (Available Items: Common Stone, Big Root)
Food and Lodging
"Alright, that's done!"
After updating the board, Carver walked outside and placed it in front of the breeding house.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed a Taillow perched on the roof, staring in his direction.
Taillow... the regional bird of Hoenn!
The little bird was quite cute, so Carver casually threw a Pokémon snack in its direction.
Taillow looked down at it, then used its beak to pick up the snack and swallow it.
Immediately, its face showed a look of satisfaction and happiness.
The next second, a line of text appeared before Carver's eyes.
[Taillow's mood increased, Happiness Value +40, received Taillow's gift: "A Piece of Information 1."]
[Taillow revealed a piece of information: In the northern region of Hoenn, there is a Pokémon that can transform into a human. If you can make Taillow happier, it might share more information about that Pokémon.]
Carver: "…?"
What?
A Pokémon that can transform into a human...
The Pokémon Taillow was talking about… could it be the legendary Latias?
As far as Carver knew, the only Pokémon in the entire Pokémon world that fit that description was Latias!
In the movie Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias, that Latias that transformed into a human girl captured the hearts of many fans.
Carver stared at the Taillow in disbelief.
A Legendary Pokémon...
Taillow squinted back, as if waiting for him to make a move.
Without hesitation, Carver turned around, grabbed more Pokémon snacks from the breeding house, and piled them in front of Taillow.
Taillow looked pleased, lowered its head, and started eating again.
It wasn't until it had eaten about half that it finally stopped.
And then, Carver saw another message.
[Taillow's mood increased, Happiness Value +20, received Taillow's gift: "A Piece of Information 2."]
[Taillow revealed another piece of information: That Pokémon lives with its brother. They don't have a fixed residence and wander across the skies of the Hoenn region. If you can make Taillow happier, it might reveal more information.]
Carver didn't even hesitate. He went back into the breeding house, grabbed more snacks, and set them in front of Taillow.
But Taillow seemed full. It glanced at the snacks, looked back at Carver with a bit of disdain, flapped its wings, and flew away.
"Hey…?!"
Carver was stunned.
Taillow didn't even look back.
Carver was left dumbfounded. Was this Taillow seriously disdainful of his snacks?
How rude!
Still… the information Taillow shared likely referred to Latias and Latios, right?
A Legendary Pokémon—such a rare and incredible creature!
With Taillow gone, Carver had no choice but to return to the breeding house and continue with his work.
However, Taillow had given him a new idea.
If it wasn't just trainer-owned Pokémon, but even wild Pokémon that could give him gifts by making them happy…
Moves, items, talents, information...
The possibilities were endless!
As the sun climbed higher, people in Autumn Leaf Town began their daily routines, and traveling trainers resumed their journeys.
While waiting for customers to arrive, Carver continued to think about the future of the breeding house.
For egg breeding, if only one Pokémon was left for daycare, it wouldn't be able to produce an egg.
In that case, if the breeding house had a Ditto, it would solve the problem.
Ditto could transform into any Pokémon, even humans, and it could pair with a customer's Pokémon to produce an egg, creating stronger offspring.
The problem was, wild Ditto were incredibly hard to find. They could mimic any other Pokémon, making it nearly impossible to tell them apart.
If that was the case, he'd have to buy one from another breeding house.
While he was thinking, the door to the breeding house swung open.
A customer had arrived!
Carver and Bewear immediately perked up. But when they saw who it was, they both stood there, stunned.
"Officer Jenny?"
Little Growlithe, sensing the presence of a stranger, instantly dashed forward, barking loudly.
"Grrr... Woof! Woof!"
"It's alright, Growlithe," Carver called out.
Growlithe immediately stopped barking and ran back to him.
Jenny looked at the little Growlithe, then back at the fully renovated breeding house. She nodded silently and said:
"It looks like you've really adapted to life here. I'm glad to see that."