You Call This a Pokémon Day Care?

With nothing else to do on the ride, Li Wei started chatting with Akin, first walking him through the game stage remotely.

He hadn't even managed to clear a stage this easy...

You really suck at this, Akin.

[Akin: Why haven't you been online in so long?]

[Li Wei: I've been training in seclusion. I don't even have time to check my phone, let alone play games.]

[Akin: You're training in seclusion too?! Want to have a fierce battle with yours truly? Explodey's itching for action!]

[Li Wei: Learning cooking and Pokémon breeding.]

[Akin: ...]

On the other side of the screen, Akin, with his edgy fringe, was utterly bewildered.

[Akin: You're learning breeding too? Want me to introduce you to a Pokémon Day Care?]

[Li Wei: My family's opening one.]

[Akin: You damn rich kid!]

[Li Wei: We borrowed money to open it. If it fails, I'll be inheriting debt instead.]

Li Wei had met Akin during his travels. They had added each other as friends, and Li Wei had carried him in games before.

[Akin: Cooking... Are you any good at it?]

Akin was a foodie himself and loved sampling local specialties wherever he went.

To answer Akin's question, Li Wei very generously shared photos of the dishes his grandfather had made recently.

[Smoked Fish Fillets].jpg

[Oil-Braised Prawns].jpg

[Garlic Oil Crab].jpg

[Shredded Potato Pancake].jpg

[Spicy Potatoes].jpg

He sent more than a dozen pictures in a row.

[Akin: Have some mercy! Those look so good. Slurp~ Did you make them?]

[Li Wei: No, my grandpa did.]

[Akin: Your grandpa's cooking is that good?]

[Li Wei: You know Siebold, the Elite Four member from Kalos, right?]

[Akin: Of course! The famous chef who treats being a Trainer as a side job!]

[Li Wei: My grandpa's on par with him.]

Both were master-level chefs, so saying they were evenly matched was perfectly fair.

After they had chatted for over half an hour,

[Akin: Don't worry, I'll help spread the word!]

Akin also helped out at a Pokémon Day Care, but he was far away in New Bark Town, Johto, while Li Wei was in Jubilife City in the Sinnoh Region.

They were in the same business, but their interests didn't clash.

Li Wei could practically picture Akin thumping his chest on the other end.

Although Akin seemed unreliable most of the time, he was fiercely loyal to his friends.

[Li Wei: Thanks. I'll treat you to a meal next time.]

[Akin: It's a deal!]

Just as Li Wei put his phone away, his dad, who had been staring at his own phone screen across from him, suddenly spoke up.

"Son, do you know what your Elder Uncle meant about setting up a video account?"

His Elder Uncle had suggested to his dad that posting videos on a bullet-screen video site was essential to getting the Pokémon Day Care's name out there.

"Your Elder Uncle said it was something called the Eevee Bullet Screen Video Network, but I don't know what that is."

The hottest website at the moment was the Eevee Bullet Screen Video Network, headquartered in Jubilife City.

Professor Oak, Professor Rowan, Elesa, and others all had video production teams on the Eevee Network,

and Red, Blue, and others were very active there too.

Li Wei had never tried anything like that, but his Elder Uncle's suggestion certainly sounded workable.

Li Wei nodded. "I haven't tried it before, but I'll give it a shot."

"Then I'll leave it to you, son. Dad believes in you!"

Li Wei said helplessly, "Do you know how to say anything besides that?"

Leon froze, then racked his brains for a while. "Kiddo! Dad believes in you!"

His mom rolled her eyes. "You spent all that time thinking just to change what you called him?"

Li Wei couldn't help smiling.

Whatever else could be said about his dad, he certainly provided plenty of emotional support.

With a ding, the system's voice sounded again.

Another side quest appeared on the panel.

[I Really Didn't Mean to Become a Content Creator]: Sign up for the Eevee Bullet Screen Video Network and become a content creator to record the colorful life of the Pokémon Day Care!

[Stage One Quest]: Reach the modest goal of 1,000 followers.

[Quest Rewards]: A small increase in the Pokémon Day Care's renown, Random Specialty Cuisine recipe ×1, random Pokémon item lottery ticket ×1

Another specialty recipe?

Now Li Wei was excited!

He had already experienced the power of Smoked Apricorn Juice.

One cup cleared the mind, two cups banished fatigue forever...

And judging by how his grandfather had praised the quality of the system's Tamato Berries, everything the system produced was top-notch.

A thousand followers didn't seem that difficult.

Li Wei chose to accept.

After a full eight-hour journey,

"We have arrived at Jubilife Station. Passengers disembarking here, please leave the train promptly."

The first thing Li Wei did after getting off was stretch and take a breath of fresh air.

"Come on out, Lucario!"

Lucario didn't like staying in a Poké Ball, but riding the train wasn't particularly comfortable either, so Lucario had chosen to stay inside for the time being.

"Look, it's a Lucario!"

"It looks really well raised."

"Don't you think the Trainer's handsome too?"

Lucario's appearance caught the attention of quite a few passengers, and some took out their phones to snap pictures.

After all, Lucario was a very rare Pokémon and one of Sinnoh Champion Cynthia's main team members.

"Over here!"

Li Wen, dressed in a sharp suit, waved to them.

They climbed into his Elder Uncle's newly purchased seven-seater, and his Elder Uncle started the engine. "The Pokémon Day Care's half an hour away. Let's go."

The Pokémon Day Care was in Jubilife City's eastern outskirts.

The openwork gates swung open automatically, and Li Wei was dumbfounded the moment he saw the Pokémon Day Care...

Ahead of him, a stone-paved road wide enough for cars wound into the distance...

There were sandy areas, grasslands, and lakes on either side of the road, and he could even see hills in the distance!

For a moment, Li Wei couldn't even tell how far the grounds extended.

"Wait, you call this a Pokémon Day Care?"

Leon puffed out his chest, utterly unapologetic. "So what? Professor Oak calls the Back Mountain behind his place his backyard!"

On the train, Leon had familiarized himself with the Eevee Video Network and followed Professor Oak's account.

Li Wei, who also followed Professor Oak, felt his mouth twitch...

Damn it, I can't even argue with that!

"Hold on, does our family have this much money?"

Even out in the suburbs, Li Wei knew full well that their funds wouldn't come close, not even with the thirty million they had borrowed from his Elder Uncle.

His Elder Uncle suddenly gave a faint smile, doing his best to radiate a kingly aura while keeping his achievements to himself.

"Not quite. Mostly, we had support from Jubilife's mayor, out of respect for your grandpa and me."

On that point, his Elder Uncle Li Wen genuinely wasn't boasting.

As everyone knew, bald men were all powerhouses.

As a renowned Pokémon stylist,

his bald Elder Uncle had a frighteningly extensive network of connections.

And with his grandfather being both a Top Breeder and a master-level chef, he really did hold a certain standing in the League.

Li Wei looked slightly puzzled. "Support from Jubilife's mayor?"

His Elder Uncle explained, "Jubilife has a thriving economy and well-developed industries, but it lacks a Pokémon Day Care with both a strong reputation and real capability. You could say our interests aligned."

Now that he understood the reason, Li Wei asked, "How big is this place?"

Leon planted his hands on his hips and flashed a wickedly smug, dragon-king-like grin. "Not that big. Just over one square kilometer."

"..."