The breeding center, office.
The breeding center really did not need bodyguards or security guards, at least not for now.
The combination of Ninetales, Gardevoir, Machamp, and Scizor was enough.
"Sorry. He's always been like this. If he offended you, I apologize on his behalf."
Wen Hui had already brought Leon to heel.
Wen Hui offered Dayou a sincere apology for the earlier farce.
Dayou waved his hand with a good-natured smile.
"No, no, I really like Machamp. I take it as a compliment."
"I used to be a professional Pokémon boxer, but I retired because of a leg injury. Don't worry, though. It won't affect my daily life or my work."
Now that's more like it.
Looking at Dayou, who sat there like a towering wall,
Leon silently nodded, approving of Dayou's former profession.
Wen Hui searched for Dayou's name and found a whole list of honors.
This was a man with his own encyclopedia entry.
Champion of the 16th P1 Fighting Tournament
Champion of the 19th Pokémon World Martial Arts Tournament
Top eight in the 27th Pokémon World Martial Arts Tournament.
Dayou had debuted at sixteen, starting his career at his peak and winning three consecutive championships.
Later, because of his leg injury, he finished in the top eight five times in a row. After that five-eight streak, he chose to retire.
Even now, Dayou was only twenty-eight.
"So what made you choose to become a Pokémon breeder?"
"I've loved raising Pokémon since I was little. Becoming a Pokémon boxer was more of a chance thing."
"I passed the junior breeder exam, but when I took the intermediate exam..."
Dayou was well-off. During his career as a professional athlete, he had received more endorsement offers than he could handle.
He had become a breeder purely out of love for it.
They wanted people who genuinely loved Pokémon, and Dayou was a perfect fit.
He could learn the breeding knowledge over time.
"Welcome to the Jubilife Breeding Center. You can come in to complete the onboarding paperwork whenever you like."
Wen Hui joked, "If we get any unreasonable customers, sorry for the trouble, but we'll be counting on you to help them see reason."
Working in the service industry meant meeting all kinds of people. There were bound to be a few oddballs.
Dayou laughed heartily. "Leave it to me!"
When it came to difficult customers, a human Machamp like Dayou had a clear advantage.
Not to mention his long list of titles, enough to intimidate even a Machamp.
Leon and Wen Hui spent the entire afternoon recruiting, interviewing twelve people in a row.
They needed not only breeders, but also people to handle odd jobs and cleaning.
Still, the only candidates who truly satisfied them were Mizuki and Dayou.
The terms they offered were excellent, and the breeding center had a pleasant working environment.
People sought better prospects, just as water flowed downhill.
Being a breeder was exhausting work, so naturally they would choose better pay and a more comfortable environment.
They would also feel more confident telling others where they worked.
Leon and Wen Hui chose quality over quantity. They were not busy yet, anyway.
The courtyard, at the ornamental fishpond with its artificial rock formation.
The pond was small, eight meters across, with a hollow-bottomed artificial rock formation in the center.
It had originally been empty, but now it housed a timid Feebas.
Since Feebas still did not dare face people, Li Wei simply left the food beside the pond and walked away.
"I've left your food here. Remember to eat, okay?"
Messages from Dayou and Mizuki arrived on his phone.
[I'll come in to start work tomorrow.]
Li Wei replied to each of them: [Welcome.]
Mizuki's side fell silent.
Dayou replied: [Still as halfhearted as ever.]
After replying to them, Li Wei took a moment to check his social feed.
He soon spotted Akin's no-nonsense advertisement.
Akin had posted Li Wei's account directly, adding that he had opened a Pokémon Day Care in Jubilife City and that anyone with time should give it a try.
Li Wei accidentally tapped the like button.
Since Li Wei did not have Red, Blue, or the others on his friends list, he could not see whether they had replied.
Among their mutual friends, Li Wei spotted someone familiar.
Lt. Surge, a native of the Unova Region and one of Team Rocket's three former executives.
He was also the first Gym Leader in the anime to genuinely lose to Ash.
What a disgrace, Lt. Surge!
Lt. Surge had turned over a new leaf and still served as the Vermilion Gym's Gym Leader.
He had once infiltrated the Masked Man's territory alone and escaped successfully, and had saved Akin and Silver.
He had replied to Li Wei's social post too.
[A S.S. Aqua Captain Lt. Surge: Looking good! I'll definitely stop by!]
Li Wei had once traveled aboard Lt. Surge's ship, and the two had added each other as friends.
Li Wei assumed he was just being polite. He lived in Vermilion City in the Kanto Region. Why would he come all the way to Jubilife City in Sinnoh for no reason?
Li Wei's first video was still riding the momentum of making the trending list, and its view count kept climbing.
After Li Wei uploaded his second video, his followers received a notification.
"The missing person is back!"
Li Wei had edited out the parts showing his face, keeping the focus on Glameow and Glameow.
"Come along, honored guests. Let's have a bubble bath."
As Li Wei pressed a Farfetch'd figurine onto Glameow's head, comments immediately streamed across the screen.
"Feeling the ducking pressure!"
"Got it. This is Imprison!"
"So well-behaved in the bath. What a classy cat!"
"That's because the UP Creator's technique is really good."
"I recommend a bonus round with Purugly!"
"My Glameow says the cat in this video is paid talent!"
"Did anyone notice? The Pokéblocks the UP Creator brought out are really high-quality!"
Someone had accurately judged their quality from the crystal-clear Pokéblocks.
Since Lily had reminded them, the video ended with Nami's close-up footage of Li Wei brushing Glameow.
Its silky fur was clearly very well maintained.
Bathing Pokémon, especially ones like Glameow and Glameow, was an extraordinarily difficult task.
Yet Li Wei had delivered a satisfying result with his practiced skills.
"I'm trying this on my Meowth right now!"
"The UP Creator's really slick at slipping in ads."
This had also successfully drawn attention to the unusual name, Jubilife Breeding Center.
Li Wei's account bio included the address, so his followers could use it to find the place.
"Your note-taker has arrived. Step one: brush the fur first..."
With the followers he had gained from his previous video, the views on Li Wei's latest upload rose quickly, and his follower count kept increasing too.
Li Wei picked a few interesting comments to reply to, then closed the app.
"Ten thousand followers is right around the corner."
The next day.
Dayou and Mizuki both arrived early to report for work.
Mizuki would be staying in the women's dormitory, but Dayou had taken things to another level.
He had bought a two-story house with a small courtyard outright, about eight hundred meters from the breeding center.
The paperwork was still being processed, but Dayou had already moved in with his bags.
Upon hearing this, Li Wei leaned back in disbelief. Now that was what you called passion!
Dayou showed him that he had liked, tipped, and bookmarked the video.
"Your video made the lifestyle trending list on the Eevee Network. It even showed up in my feed."
The video of him bathing Glameow and Glameow had received seven hundred thousand views overnight, surpassing the first video outright.
Beside them, Mizuki said softly, "If you showed your face, it probably would've passed a million already."
Li Wei waved a hand. "I'm a skills-based UP Creator. I don't rely on my looks."
"Come on, I'll show you around the breeding center."
Before you continue