Taking on a task

Seeing Glameow run outside, the Breeding Teacher picked up the bowl Su Bai had used for the Pokémon food and sniffed it carefully.

"So that's it! You used Chople Berries and Cheri Berries, then added Sitrus Berries."

Of these three Berries, Chople Berries could cure a Pokémon's frozen condition, Cheri Berries could cure paralysis, and Sitrus Berries could restore stamina.

Eaten together, the three could cleanse the intestines and soothe the stomachs of feline Pokémon.

"Did you figure out from Glameow's appearance that the reason for refusing food was an overfull stomach and indigestion?"

"Yes."

Su Bai couldn't help being impressed. A professional instructor really knew their stuff-just one sniff was enough to identify his ingredients.

"I also used some medicinal herbs and a drop of Revival Herb juice to make it work faster."

"Su Bai, you did very well."

The Breeding Teacher nodded, making no effort to hide their appreciation for Su Bai.

The instructors had all figured out what was wrong with Glameow, but Glameow refused to eat any of the digestion-aiding Pokémon food they prepared, leaving them at a loss.

The Breeding Teacher had even been planning to take Glameow to the Pokémon Center after class.

As they spoke, Glameow returned.

Although Glameow's coat hadn't returned to its normal color, that belly was no longer so swollen.

Upon seeing Su Bai, Glameow happily leaped into his arms and nuzzled him, thanking him for solving the problem.

Su Bai stroked Glameow, feeling sorry for the poor little thing.

Just take this class, for example. With so many students, even one bite of each person's Pokémon food would have been enough to fill Glameow up.

Then there might be a couple of undercooked dishes, a couple made with poor ingredients, and a couple so awful that Glameow swallowed them without even chewing...

It would have been a miracle if Glameow's stomach were healthy.

Watching Su Bai, the Breeding Teacher looked thoughtful, then finally stepped forward.

"Su Bai, would you be willing to look after our Pokémon Department's Pokémon? It won't be too much work. You only need to feed them at noon and record their health once a day. If you're willing, I'll speak to Director Li."

"Does it come with credits?"

"Uh... that's not something I can decide, but you can take home the Berries left over from feeding them each day."

"It's a deal!"

Su Bai was delighted. From now on, raising his Pokémon would go from low-cost to completely free.

Berries were Berries. Once he took the leftovers home, he could turn them straight into Pokéblocks.

Seeing the smile on Su Bai's face, the Breeding Teacher couldn't help musing to themselves.

What an earnest boy. A few pounds of Berries made him this happy.

He dressed well, and he could afford to raise a Growlithe, so his family probably wasn't badly off.

Material benefits certainly couldn't be what made him so happy.

If it wasn't material, then it must be emotional. He must be this happy because he knew he'd get to spend more time with Pokémon.

This boy really did love Pokémon.

Su Bai had no idea what the Breeding Teacher was thinking. If he had, he would definitely have said they had misunderstood.

Still, that wasn't entirely wrong. Since coming to this world, Su Bai hadn't actually encountered that many Pokémon, and he was happy to have the chance to spend time with more of them.

By noon, Su Bai had received permission to help the instructors look after the Pokémon Department's Pokémon.

Besides being allowed to take the leftover Berries home, he would receive an extra five credits each month.

Pikachu and Growlithe could also eat lunch with the Pokémon Department's Pokémon.

Not bad. That was sixty credits a year.

After a quick meal, Su Bai brought Pikachu to J University's Pokémon Day Care.

The Pokémon Day Care was on campus and divided into a breeding area and a teaching area.

The breeding area housed Pokémon that the university's instructors and administrators had left there to be raised, as well as sparring partners for the battle program.

Apparently, Qi Shijun kept one of his Pokémon here: a female Rillaboom who helped ensure that the Pokémon living in the breeding area got along.

Only the teaching area was Su Bai's responsibility.

The teaching area housed friendly Pokémon with little aggression, used to assist with lessons. In their fourth year, students in the breeding program had one dedicated class here each week.

The Observation Department had more classes here. Once students reached their fourth year, they had to attend five classes here every week.

The Breeding Teacher led Su Bai into the breeding area, and several Pokémon immediately ran over to greet them. One was the Glameow Su Bai had met earlier.

Glameow happily pounced on Su Bai upon seeing him, nearly knocking Pikachu over.

"All right, all right. Hello to you too. Looks like you've recovered nicely."

The Pokémon had already been fed lunch that day. Su Bai was mainly here to let them get used to his face.

J University lived up to its reputation as the province's largest leading university. Its Pokémon Day Care had Pokémon of every type.

The instructor told Su Bai that although outsiders weren't allowed to come here, J University's Pokémon Day Care did serve the public. It had a storefront in the city, where customers could first choose from information and videos. Once they made their choice, staff would bring the Pokémon over.

If the customer and the Pokémon got along well, the sale could go through.

As Su Bai walked farther inside, he saw all kinds of Pokémon.

Marill, Psyduck, Diglett, Venonat, Beautifly, Plusle, Minun, Machop, Pidgey...

There were even Ghost-type and Psychic-type Pokémon: the relatively low-risk Misdreavus and Slowpoke.

The Dragon-types were Goomy and Altaria, the latter being relatively gentle among Dragon-types.

"Is Altaria for sale too?"

"Two hundred thousand. Students get a five-percent discount."

"Sorry to bother you."

As he walked farther in, Su Bai's gaze swept across a Flower Garden, and his eyes suddenly locked onto it.

An Eevee was happily running back and forth among the flowers in the Flower Garden.

Su Bai rubbed his eyes, slowly approached, and crouched down.

Eevee?

Seeing this unfamiliar young man, Eevee stopped and rubbed those little eyes with a paw, revealing tiny pink pads.

"Hello. My name's Su Bai. I'll be the one bringing you your meals from now on."

Eevee nodded sweetly, tilting that little head to study Su Bai as though trying hard to memorize his appearance. Those tiny, gleaming black eyes blinked like gemstones, and that little nose twitched, sniffing his scent.

Too cute!

Su Bai sat straight down on the ground, feeling as though he'd been shot.

Annoyed, Pikachu bared little white teeth, gave Su Bai's ear a light bite, and jumped off his shoulder.

Men. A man who tossed aside the old for the new. I'll tell Cynthia to watch out for you. So this was the kind of person you were.

Seeing Pikachu, Eevee cautiously approached, let out an utterly adorable cry, and nuzzled against Pikachu.

Pikachu blushed and toppled straight onto the ground.

I couldn't take it. I really couldn't!

"Tell me! How much is this Eevee? Forget it, just tell me how many kidneys I'd have to sell to take this little one home!"

"Pika, pika!"

Both Su Bai and Pikachu were smitten.

The Breeding Teacher gave a wry smile.

"Su Bai, someone has already reserved this Eevee."