Day Care.
Officer Jenny sat upright on the sofa as Bewear brought over a glass of berry juice and placed it in front of her.
Kawaki sat across from her. Recalling what the kid named Conan had said earlier, he spoke up:
"Thank you so much, Officer Jenny."
He was referring to how she had helped promote the day care around town.
Jenny smiled and said, "No need to call me Officer Jenny. Technically, based on our family tree, you should be calling me cousin."
Kawaki blinked in surprise.
The original owner's memories didn't contain much about the Jenny family—only a few fragments about rejecting their invitation to return to the family.
"Your mother was my aunt's cousin. We came to Fallarbor Town three years ago hoping to bring you back to the family, but you refused," Jenny explained.
Kawaki nodded. The original owner had indeed refused.
Because to him, the Jenny family was a complete stranger, while this place was where he had grown up. His parents were buried here—he didn't want to leave.
Kawaki remained silent. After all, he wasn't the original Kawaki.
"Sigh..." Jenny looked at the poor child in front of her.
His parents had passed away. His grandparents and aunt, who had fought to maintain peace and stop criminals and Pokémon poachers, had also died in the line of duty years ago.
For someone in the Jenny family, that might have been a source of pride—but for those left behind, it was just pain.
Enough of that. No point in bringing up the past. Now that little Kawaki had the day care running so smoothly, it meant he was ready to move on with his life.
And as a member of the Jenny family, she was going to help him out!
Jenny straightened her expression and got down to business. "I actually came here today to ask you something."
"What is it?" Kawaki asked, puzzled.
"If you need Pokémon eggs, I can contact the Hoenn League and arrange for a batch to be delivered to you," Jenny said.
After all, running a day care meant Pokémon were essential.
"What's the cost?" Kawaki asked.
"No cost," Jenny shook her head, then explained, "Each year in Hoenn, natural disasters leave some wild Pokémon without homes."
"Since humans and Pokémon share this world, the League can't just ignore them. They dispatch people to rescue those Pokémon."
"Sometimes those rescued Pokémon lay eggs. Some are found in the wild or abandoned in town. These eggs, without anyone to care for them, are usually sent to one of two places."
"One: they're hatched and given to new trainers as starter Pokémon by a professor."
"The rest go to nearby day cares, where caretakers raise them and sell them to trainers who need them."
Of course, "sell" here didn't mean selling the Pokémon itself, but rather charging for the breeder's time and effort.
"The League only has one request: they hope you can find good trainers for those children."
"I understand," Kawaki nodded. The day care was in desperate need of Pokémon eggs right now, so he didn't turn down her kind offer. "In that case, I'll leave it to you."
Jenny smiled gently. "No need to be so formal. I believe you'll be an excellent breeder."
You could tell just by how close he was with Growlithe.
After all, Growlithe was a highly intelligent Pokémon.
Thinking this, Jenny looked over at the little Growlithe.
At that moment, Growlithe suddenly sneezed.
Immediately, tiny sparkling particles floated out from its nose.
Bewear, standing nearby, was unfortunately caught in the cloud. She yawned and began to look drowsy.
Jenny: "?"
Was that… a Yawn?
No, it looked more like Sleep Powder!
But how could a Growlithe use Sleep Powder?!
A huge question mark practically appeared over Jenny's head.
Everything in front of her was outside her understanding, and even someone as composed as her couldn't help but look dumbfounded.
"Growlithe... used Sleep Powder?!"
"What… what's going on here?" she asked, turning toward Kawaki.
From what she knew, there was absolutely no way a Growlithe could learn Sleep Powder!
Kawaki: "..."
He hadn't expected Growlithe to actually use Sleep Powder like that, either.
A sort of... alternative Yawn?
Faced with Jenny's confused gaze, Kawaki scratched his head a little awkwardly.
"Before Growlithe hatched, I tried explaining the theory behind the move Sleep Powder to him. I figured—if Oddish can learn it, why can't Growlithe? So I gave it a shot… and he actually learned it!"
'I just thought, why not try?' power!
Jenny: "..."
It sounded kind of reasonable.
But scientifically speaking, that shouldn't be possible?!
Jenny fell silent.
As a member of the esteemed Jenny family, her mind immediately considered several possibilities.
One: This Growlithe was a once-in-a-generation prodigy.
Two: The science up to now had been wrong, and Growlithe could learn Sleep Powder—it just hadn't been discovered yet.
Three: Kawaki had a unique ability.
She ruled out the first and second right away—she was very familiar with Growlithe as a species. No Growlithe had ever learned Sleep Powder, not even once, across the whole family.
That left the third possibility.
If Kawaki truly had such a gift, then he was born to be a breeder!
"Well," she said, standing up, "I have some duties to return to at the station."
She let it go. In the end, as long as Kawaki was safe and well, that was enough.
"I'll contact the Hoenn League soon. Expect a reply in a few days."
"Alright. Thanks again," Kawaki said gratefully.
Jenny left—there was still a lot she needed to do and she couldn't stay too long.
Once she contacted the League and arranged for the eggs, she would come back to visit little Kawaki again.
With that batch of Pokémon eggs, the day care would officially be on the right track.
Kawaki felt deeply grateful to Jenny.
She had truly given them a lot of help.
All he had to do now was wait patiently.
That morning, the day care received quite a few visitors—though most of them were kids under ten or just turning ten.
They came from regular families, curious about the newly opened day care they'd heard about from Officer Jenny.
And Kawaki, of course, made sure to welcome them warmly—after all, these children might become his future customers.