After getting the Vespiquen and its Combee settled, Victor went over to Dali and the others.
He looked at the tree lying on the grass, sized it up, and then asked Dali to clean off the branches. Afterward, he had it chop the trunk into several sections.
Dali formed its fist into a hand-chop that glowed with a white light. With a downward swing, the tree was split into segments.
After the tree was cut into the desired shapes, Victor had Gengar take the wood to a dry place to season. Wood used for carving needed to be dried for a period of time.
They then gathered the remaining branches to be used as firewood.
By the time they finished, it was dinner time. Victor handed the Petilil to Gengar to play with while he went back to the kitchen to prepare the evening meal.
Dali called over Erli and Sanli. They headed to the warehouse, each grabbing a hoe, and went to the area Victor had designated as the herb and vegetable garden. They began to till and prepare the land so that Victor could plant seeds directly later on.
Victor cleaned the savory mushrooms they had found in the forest and put them in a clay pot with other ingredients, covering it to let it simmer. He mixed some of the other berries they'd gathered with vegetables from the refrigerator to make a berry salad, and then made a glass of chilled, freshly blended fruit and vegetable juice for himself and each of the Pokémon. Finally, he took all the meat out of the fridge and prepared it as a special treat for Gengar, Dali, and the others.
After having Gengar move the table outside, Victor brought a large pot of rice out and shouted that dinner was ready.
Dali and the others came running back, carrying their hoes.
"Machoke."
"Time to eat."
Looking at the well-behaved Pokémon sitting in their spots, Victor smiled. Although it was currently just him, Gengar, the three Machoke, and one Petilil, Victor believed that this family would grow larger and livelier in the future.
One day, I'll raise a whole bunch of Eevee, one of each evolution. If I ever run into danger, I'll just bring them all out. Gather all the Eevee to summon the Alpaca God, Arceus.
Lost in thought, Victor nodded to himself, until a voice snapped him out of it.
"Gengar..."
"I'm so hungry..."
Coming back to his senses, Victor saw the Pokémon staring at him with longing eyes. He apologized and quickly served them each a large bowl of rice and a bowl of the savory mushroom soup.
Watching the Pokémon eat with such abandon, Victor felt a deep sense of satisfaction. There was no greater feeling of accomplishment than watching others enjoy the food he made.
[The "Savory Mushroom Soup" you cooked has triggered a Culinary Crit. The mood of Gengar and the Machoke (Dali, Erli, Sanli) has reached a new high. Their fatigue has been completely wiped away, their efficiency has increased, and there seem to be some other unknown effects?]
After dinner, Victor assigned Gengar to dishwashing duty while he sat in the yard with Dali and the others, slowly sipping his freshly made berry juice.
When he learned that they had already tilled the herb and vegetable gardens, Victor was surprised. He picked up the Petilil and followed them to take a look.
Seeing the neatly prepared plots of land, Victor had to admit that having Pokémon helpers made work go much faster.
He praised Dali and the others. Just then, Gengar floated over, holding its own glass of berry juice, and announced that the dishes were done.
Victor praised Gengar as well, and threw in a compliment for the Petilil for good measure.
When it came to Pokémon, you could never go wrong with a little extra praise.
He led them back into the Breeding House. Victor decided he would go to Twinleaf Town the next morning to buy some herb and vegetable seeds, as well as more food to stock the refrigerator. With one Gengar and three Machoke, the appetites in this house were enormous.
What he had originally planned as a week's worth of groceries was gone in two or three days. This time, he intended to buy much more.
He thought about all the money he had spent renovating the Breeding House, only to have sold a single Pokémon Egg so far. The money he had just earned wasn't even warm in his pocket yet, and now it had to be spent on food, with him even having to dip into his savings.
His heart felt a sudden chill.
"We need to start making money, and fast, Gengar!" Victor said with a sudden seriousness.
"Gengar!" Gengar nodded in complete agreement.
How can we make money more quickly?
Victor thought for a long time and finally decided to go to Twinleaf Town tomorrow to scope things out and then ask Laura and the others for advice.
Having decided on his plan for the next day, Victor placed the Petilil in its flowerpot on the balcony, took a shower, and went to bed.
...
The next morning, Victor got up early. After breakfast and trimming the Petilil's leaves, he placed it by the lake and asked Dali and the others to look after it and the house. He then left with Gengar, hung the "Temporarily Closed" sign, and headed towards Twinleaf Town.
After walking for some time, Victor wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered, "I definitely need to catch a Pokémon I can ride in the future. Walking like this is exhausting."
He glanced at Gengar, who was hiding in his shadow behind him.
"Too bad I can't ride Gengar," Victor said with a sigh of regret.
"Gengar? Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ"
Arriving at the seed shop, he saw an elderly woman with silver hair at the cash register.
The old woman bagged the herb and vegetable seeds Victor needed, handed them to him, and asked with a smile, "You're buying herb seeds. Do you know a thing or two about herbs?"
Victor, who was paying, paused for a moment at her question. "I know a little," he replied.
Hearing this, the old woman nodded and continued, "Then do you know of anything that can help with listlessness? My old man has had no energy at all lately. He can't eat, and seeing a doctor hasn't helped. Sigh."
The old woman sighed deeply. She was worried sick about her husband. Hearing that Victor knew about herbs, she thought she'd ask if he had any ideas.
Hearing that the symptom was a lack of energy, Victor thought of the dried Petilil leaves at the Breeding House. Brewing them was said to restore vitality. He wondered if it would work.
After a moment's thought, Victor decided to tell her. He asked the woman if she knew of the Breeding House.
"You mean... the one that closed down?"
"Yes, but it's been renovated and has reopened now. We have an herbal tea there that can restore vitality. I don't know if it will solve your husband's problem, but I personally suggest it's worth a try," Victor said softly, nodding.
Seeing the gentle and confident smile on the handsome young man's face, the old woman guessed who the new owner of the Breeding House was. She nodded and said, "Alright then, I'll bring my old man over this afternoon to have a look. Are you open in the afternoon?"
"We are," Victor replied. He then said his goodbyes to the woman and headed towards the shopping center.
As he walked, he took the time to carefully observe the small Sinnoh town. In the games, it was the starting town. Twinleaf Town was located near the ocean and had a port.
The houses on both sides of the street were neat and orderly. Pokémon could be seen living in harmony with people everywhere, though there were also some gathered around trash cans.
The last two times he had come here, he had left as soon as his business was done, without taking a good look around. Now, he took the opportunity to explore.
After walking around for a bit, he realized that there was considerable profit to be made from good food in this world. Perhaps his Breeding House could introduce some popular food items in the future, like desserts. He had confidence in his cooking skills and in the recipe book his great-aunt had given him.
After finishing his tour, Victor headed to the shopping center, bought a large pile of groceries, left the store his address for delivery, and then headed back to the Breeding House with Gengar.