Jubilife Breeding Center.
Li Wei pulled up the records on the computer and sent them to Officer Jenny through Blue.
While they waited for Officer Jenny to help with the investigation,
Blue gave Li Wei a rough explanation of why he had come.
When Lian was young, he had traveled to the Kanto Region and met Professor Oak. The two had become good friends.
Professor Oak had taught the old man Pokémon breeding techniques,
and the old man had tried to teach Professor Oak to cook,
but all he had managed to teach him was how to boil instant noodles over an alcohol burner.
"Let's not get into that," Blue said helplessly.
The old man wasn't the type to brag about his past exploits, and he couldn't be bothered to talk about his glory days.
He had also visited Pallet Town a few years earlier, so Blue had met him.
Li Wei, however, hadn't known anything about it.
"Mr. Lian called a little while ago and asked my grandfather-Professor Oak-for a favor."
"The plan was to send you to Pallet Town for further training, but Professor Oak said you were busy with the Pokémon Day Care, so he sent me here instead."
Blue shrugged, looking somewhat exasperated. "I'm the Viridian Gym Leader too, you know?"
As a dutiful grandson,
Blue had no choice but to make the trip.
They sat in the living room, each with a bottle of ice-cold cola in front of him.
Blue leaned comfortably back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and asked casually, "Tell me about yourself. When did you start raising Pokémon?"
"I got Lucario's egg two years ago. That was my first time raising a Pokémon."
Recalling how well Lucario had been raised, Blue nodded slightly. Bringing him that far in two years was quite impressive.
Blue dropped his casual manner, sat up straight, and spoke with a serious expression:
"Although a promise was made to Mr. Lian, Professor Oak was the one who made it. As for whether I'd teach you...
"I was still considering it. I figured if you turned out to be an idiot, I'd turn around and leave immediately."
The corner of Li Wei's mouth twitched.
Couldn't we all at least keep up appearances?
"I'm not your teacher, but for the next seven days, I'll do everything I can to teach you. How much you learn is up to you."
Blue checked the time. "If that works for you, we'll start this afternoon. I'll go get things ready."
With that, Blue left.
"What exactly are you... doing?"
Opening the front door, Blue found himself staring at a thoroughly furtive-looking Leon, utterly puzzled.
"Just passing by! Just passing by!"
Comrade Leon scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward laugh.
Li Wei called toward the corner, "Come on out."
Comrade Leon wanted to pretend he hadn't been eavesdropping, but he took up far too much space to pull it off.
"Son! What were you talking about with Blue?"
Comrade Leon had been eavesdropping with his backside sticking out, but with the door shut, he hadn't been able to hear clearly.
"Grandpa asked him to teach me about Pokémon breeding for seven days."
For once, Leon dropped his usual casual air and said solemnly, "He's a Champion. You'd better learn everything you can!"
But he quickly ruined the effect, muttering, "Even if he was only Champion for five minutes..."
"Don't worry. I know."
Whether Blue was a Champion wasn't important.
What mattered most was his ability to raise Pokémon.
Professor Oak had given him the title of "the Breeder," after all.
Blue had once raised an entire team to hold down the Viridian Gym in less than a year.
Red's Pokémon had also benefited from Blue's care.
The two had once swapped teams for a week.
In fact, even now, it was perfectly normal for them to swap Pokémon back and forth.
To some extent, Blue deserved part of the credit for the exceptional strength of Red's Pokémon.
Blue had also learned from Red about emotional connections and bonds with Pokémon.
They were rivals and close friends who pushed each other to improve.
Li Wei made a special post.
[I'll be studying for the next seven days, so I'm going to flake out for a bit. I'll post Career Guidance 05 when I'm back.]
Blue also sent Red a message.
[No time. I'll be teaching for seven days.]
Red looked up at his computer, then down at his phone.
"Why is it seven days for both of them?"
"Whatever. I'll go find someone to battle!"
[Ding! You have a new side quest-Blue's approval.] [Earn Blue's approval during your seven days of study. Quest reward: unknown.]
Li Wei accepted.
That afternoon, in the kitchen.
Before starting the lesson, Blue explained how the investigation was going.
"There are some issues with that Trainer's records. Officer Jenny said they're still investigating."
"So Feebas's problems most likely came from that Trainer?"
Blue nodded slightly. "Very likely. Let's leave that aside and get started."
Blue immediately switched into teaching mode.
He pointed at the pile of ingredients he had asked Wen Hui to help prepare.
"Can you make Pokémon food?"
"Yes," Li Wei replied confidently.
Blue didn't yet know the extent of Li Wei's abilities.
"Show me. You'll be making food for my Arcanine. His tastes are typical for an Arcanine."
The steps involved in making Pokémon food
were actually no simpler than those for Pokéblocks or Poffins.
It was a comprehensive test of knife skills, heat control, and seasoning.
Li Wei selected a plump duck-not a Farfetch'd, just an ordinary wild duck.
The first step was to debone it.
Blue had specifically asked Wen Hui to choose a plump duck. The meat was good, but it was harder to debone.
Li Wei worked swiftly and cleanly, showing no nerves in front of Blue.
The instant Li Wei stopped, Blue pressed the stopwatch.
"Seven minutes, fifty-three seconds."
Li Wei had deboned it faster than Blue had imagined possible.
The duck remained perfectly intact afterward, and Blue couldn't find a single fault.
"Very good. Much better than I expected. Keep going."
Knife skills weren't particularly important when making Pokémon food, since everything would be minced anyway.
But good knife skills were still a plus.
Li Wei chopped up several ingredients, added various seasonings suited to a typical Arcanine's tastes, and minced everything into a meat mixture.
Once cooked, it would form the little meaty morsels that made Pokémon food look like dog or cat food.
Heat control was crucial during this process.
Cook it too long, and the meat would turn tough. Use too much heat, and the morsels might fail to hold their shape or burst apart.
Finally, Li Wei ground a Razz Berry into powder and sprinkled it evenly over the finished food.
Blue couldn't find a single flaw in the serving Li Wei had made for Arcanine.
"Come on out, Arcanine!"
Blue tossed a Poké Ball, then set the food in front of Arcanine.
"Go ahead and eat."
Blue watched Arcanine wag his tail and dig into the food, then looked up at Li Wei.
"Your fundamentals are solid. Honestly, you wouldn't miss much even without these seven days of lessons."
Li Wei shook his head. "That's only because I have an Arcanine too."
Li Wei didn't dare get too full of himself.
What if Blue really left?
He would have nowhere to turn then.
The corners of Blue's mouth lifted slightly. "We'll start this afternoon with food for Ground-type Pokémon."
Blue liked people who were talented yet humble.
They were easy to teach.
Blue truly shared everything he knew,
holding nothing back.
After taking over the Viridian Gym, Blue had obtained Giovanni's "Earth's Secret Arts," and Ground types were his specialty.
He gave Li Wei the exact proportions for every seasoning and ingredient.
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