After saying goodbye to Takagi-ojii-san, Hayashi Kaede made his way to a small river and let out a practiced whistle.
Before long, a Feebas surfaced—its entire body a dull brownish-gray, with tattered scales that shimmered faintly in the morning light.
Hayashi Kaede, already familiar with its habits, pulled out a Water-type energy cube and tossed it into the river.
Feebas caught it perfectly as it sank.
[Congratulations to the host for increasing Feebas's happiness value from 10% to 40%. Reward: ten bags of fertilizer, one Rare Candy, and one Life Fruit (permanently increases a Pokémon's HP individual value).]
The rewards were the same as before.
Hayashi Kaede didn't mind. He simply reached out and gently patted Feebas's head. "Feebas, would you like to come home with me?"
He had first found this Feebas in a muddy puddle after heavy spring rains during the equinox.
Back then, he took it home and cared for it for a short time. But school kept him busy, and he had no choice but to release it into the river temporarily.
Later, he discovered that Feebas seemed able to sense his presence.
Every time he came to the riverbank, it would appear, quietly following him.
Now that he had decided not to go to university, there was no reason to leave it behind. Bringing Feebas back to the Breeding House felt like the natural next step.
It would add a little life to the place.
Plop!
Feebas paused. Its dull fish eyes blinked slowly at him, almost as if it were asking, "Really?"
They had spent enough time together that they could roughly understand each other's intentions.
And now, with Hayashi Kaede's Everstone Power, their connection was even stronger.
"Of course," he said with a smile, pulling a Poké Ball from his belt.
At the same time, he activated the Eye of Exploration.
[Pokémon: Feebas]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Adaptability]
[Aptitude: Green]
[Individual Values: HP (25), Attack (13), Special Attack (11), Defense (14), Special Defense (16), Speed (10)]
[Strength: Level 6–9]
[Skills: Splash, Tackle]
[Description: An ordinary but spiritual Feebas.]
[Affection: 85]
[Happiness: 95]
[Congratulations to the host for increasing Feebas's happiness value from 40% to 95%. Reward: Aptitude-Boosting Energy Cube Recipe ×1, Perfect Prism Scale, Rare Candy ×10.]
"Hm?"
Hayashi Kaede raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed.
Looking at Feebas's goofy, excited eyes, he couldn't help but lightly tap its forehead. "You're really easy to please."
Just inviting it home had raised its happiness by over 50 percent.
That level of happiness could only be described as overwhelming joy—thoughtless, pure satisfaction.
After glancing at the Aptitude Cube recipe, Hayashi Kaede nodded to himself. "Perfect. Both of these are just right for you."
Without wasting any more time, he recalled Feebas into the Poké Ball.
As for the Prism Scale...
Hayashi Kaede didn't plan to use it just yet.
As a god-tier Breeder, he knew better than anyone when the right time would come to evolve a Feebas.
Ding... ding... ding-dong.
With a soft series of red flashes, the Poké Ball confirmed the successful capture.
Even though his chuunibyou days were long behind him, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
This was his first Pokémon.
He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then raised the Poké Ball in the air and struck a peace sign pose.
"I caught a Feebas!"
Then he snapped out of it, laughed at himself, and quickly stashed the ball away.
He continued walking along the river.
His goal today wasn't just to bring Feebas home. He also needed to check the irrigation channel.
Back when his parents were alive, they had diverted water from this river into a narrow canal that flowed directly into the Plantation behind the Breeding House.
They had even dug a pond inside the Plantation to store water.
It was time to check on that canal.
When he arrived, he let out a sigh of relief.
The canal wasn't damaged. It was just dry and blocked by branches and debris.
All he needed to do was head upstream and clear the blockage.
But for now, he decided to return home first—to the Plantation.
Since his parents passed away, he hadn't done much with it. Occasionally, when the peach trees bore fruit, he'd come by to pick some Pecha berries.
Now that he thought about it, they should be ripe around this time.
Perfect for satisfying his sweet tooth.
As he walked, his mind wandered.
It had already been eighteen years since he transmigrated into this world.
He understood it well by now.
It was clearly a parallel version of the Pokémon world.
And it wasn't some mishmash of different series or settings—it was a pure Pokémon world.
According to the history books, based on the existence of Pokémon, this world's history was divided into three major eras: ancient, modern, and contemporary.
In the ancient era, Arceus created the first Pokémon—Mew.
From there, the species gradually diversified and evolved into all the Pokémon known today.
In modern history, everything changed in 1897, when Professor Bruce P. successfully synthesized the first Poké Ball using a combination of berries and technology.
That moment marked the beginning of modern Pokémon Studies.
The field quickly expanded.
The Trainer profession gradually became the bridge between humans and Pokémon.
Where Pokémon power was once tightly restricted, it now evolved into something guided and shared.
In 1924, the first official Alliance Tournament was held. The Champion was awarded great honors and wealth.
After that, Pokémon battles—both local and international—spread like wildfire.
Trainers began rising in prominence across the world.
By now, Pokémon were a part of everyday life in nearly every household.
And as Pokémon became central to society, the world reorganized around them, forming new systems of governance, with the regional Alliances at the core.
In this version of the world, Hayashi Kaede lived in Aogiri Town, under the jurisdiction of Aogiri City, which was part of the Alliance.
The other Alliances were nearly identical to those Hayashi Kaede remembered from the anime in his past life.
Kalos. Unova. The Alola region...
In fact, when he was fifteen, he had seen a very familiar face during an Alliance Tournament broadcast—Leon.
His Charizard had blasted through its opponent in a single blow, completely overwhelming the battlefield.
It was in that moment Hayashi Kaede realized: this world had Leon.
And not just Leon. There was also Lance, the Dragon Master, and even Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, currently challenging the local Elite Four.
Most of the people he remembered existed here in some form.
It was a fascinating world.
When he first transmigrated, his dream was to become a Pokémon Master.
But things were different now.
Eighteen years of ordinary life had dulled the fire in his heart.
He preferred being a Breeder.
A Breeder could spend more time with Pokémon, after all.
Lost in thought, he soon arrived at the Plantation behind his house.
Years of neglect had left it overgrown. Tall grasses and weeds covered the soil, lush and chaotic.
The field itself was large—about the size of a soccer pitch.
When his parents were alive, every season had its own crops growing in rotation. The land had thrived.
Now, only a few stubborn fruit trees remained: peach trees bearing Pecha berries, and orange trees heavy with spicy Fire Fruits.
The Pecha trees were especially healthy, their branches weighed down by ripe pink berries.
Just as Hayashi Kaede was about to admire the scene, a flash of greenish-blue darted across his vision.