Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"Mr. Ailian, you probably don't mind if there are other people around while we're talking, right?"

Shop owner Genjiro spoke in a very formal and methodical manner.

"It's alright. In fact, our Asagi Ranch and Trainer Tetsuya have a very close relationship."

Ailian, the current owner of Asagi Ranch, smiled.

Of course she knows Tetsuya.

Besides her achievements and abilities as a trainer, her relationship with Tetsuya at the Asagi Gym was quite close.

"Oh really? That would be perfect."

Genjiro expressed his surprise at the opportune moment, and then changed the subject to business.

Tetsuya, who was listening from the sidelines, perked up his ears and quickly grasped the key points of the conversation between the two sides.

As an important organization under the Asagi Gym, Asagi Ranch is famous for breeding Mare sheep.

Whether it's Mare sheep wool or Mare sheep milk, the products produced by Asagi Ranch are always among the best in the market.

Its reputation is in no way inferior to that of milk products such as the large milk cans produced by Mankin Ranch in Mankin City, which is in the same region.

This is precisely why transporting the products each time becomes a major problem.

Unlike the Milk Tank, which produces a large amount of milk every day and even feels unwell if it is not milked daily, Mare's wool is replaced only once a year.

Every summer, the sheep's wool, which has grown continuously over the past year, will all fall out, revealing their bare bodies.

Of course, the magic of the elves caused these hairless Mare sheep to return to their normal appearance after a week.

Before this time of year, Asagi Dojo always needs to ask the nearby Popo Store main branch for help with transportation.

Because only here can massive amounts of wool be delivered to all parts of the world at the lowest cost.

Other transportation methods are not impossible, but considering the overall speed, efficiency, and cost, Bobo Store is the best choice.

This should be good news for any store.

Such a large order can generate considerable revenue.

However, judging from what the shop owner, Genjiro, said, he wouldn't have been willing to take on this job if it weren't for the fact that the dojos in Suten were looking out for each other.

"This year's volume is 10 percent higher than last year's."

Genjiro listened to Ai-ren's introduction and sighed slightly.

"Actually, there aren't that many."

The owner of Ailian Farm unconsciously softened his tone.

The main reason for all this is the characteristics of Mare sheep and the properties of its wool.

Zhe also has a say on this point.

When Electric Dragon was still Mareep, the static electricity on its wool caused it a lot of trouble.

The wool shed by Mare sheep in summer is not only twice the size of normal wool, but also contains a considerable amount of electricity.

This is a very difficult situation for Flying-type Pokémon like Pidgey and Pidgeotto.

Even with the insulation of the enclosure, close contact with electrical energy can easily cause problems for them during flight.

For example, sudden numbness, or disorientation.

It's no wonder that Genjiro was somewhat reluctant.

After all, judging from the conversation just now, each fully formed Pidgey or Pidgey requires a lot of effort, resources, and manpower.

It would be a real shame if something went wrong.

"Your sheep are molting a bit early this year. Our batch of messengers at Bobo store hasn't finished training yet, so the price will be higher than last year."

However, to be honest, the two of them were just employees.

Since the dojos that support them have already said they'll do it, the shop owners can't really change anything.

All Genjiro could do was try to secure the greatest possible protection and profit.

Moreover, Bobo Store does not necessarily generate other revenue in this process.

At least as Genjiro just said, if the newly trained messengers are sent to carry out the missions every year, it would be a pretty good pre-job training opportunity for them.

After such a challenging transportation operation, work and life will likely be much easier afterwards.

The owner of Ailian Farm, of course, also argued his case based on reason.

Although they are in a somewhat passive and disadvantaged position, they cannot simply be asked for money for nothing.

With such a large volume of transportation, even a small saving in unit price would amount to a significant sum.

Tetsuya sipped his tea, listening intently to the back-and-forth negotiation between the two, finding it quite interesting.

Having lived two lives, he had never experienced anything like this, which could be considered a business negotiation.

More than half an hour later, the two managers, who had been arguing until their faces were red, finally reached a consensus and stopped arguing.

"It really is like this every time."

Genjiro sighed.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Ailian seemed quite happy to have accomplished something so important.

For her, this was unavoidable; spending less was always a gain.

"By the way, Trainer Tetsuya."

She suddenly turned her head and called out somewhat awkwardly to Tetsuya, who had been watching from the side for a while.

"Huh?" Tetsuya was taken aback. "Is there something you need?"

"That's right, Ami, the curator, has been at Asagi Ranch these past few days because of the Mare sheep incident."

I just mentioned to her that you're here too, so she'd like to invite you to visit Asagi Ranch if you have some free time. She has some things she'd like to discuss with you.

Ai Lian said this.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure."

Upon hearing that it was Ami, the gym leader of Asagi Gym, who was looking for him, Tetsuya readily agreed.

"But I might have to wait until the afternoon. I need to wait for Master Suten's Pidgeot at Bobo's shop."

He also briefly explained his situation.

“Okay, Ami is at the ranch all day. On behalf of Asagi Ranch, I welcome you.”

After saying that, Ai-Lian politely greeted Genjiro and Tetsuya in turn before leaving.

"As expected of the 'Young Lady' Dojo in Johto."

Watching Ailian's departing figure, Zhe couldn't help but sigh.

The Asagi Gym in Johto is modeled after the Rainbow Gym in the Kanto region.

Aside from the differences in their specializations in elves, the two are very similar in many ways.

For example, there are regulations that only accept female trainer apprentices.

However, compared to the Rainbow Gym, which specializes in Grass-type Pokémon, the Green Gym, which focuses more on training larger Pokémon, is not as popular with female trainers.

Despite Ami's popularity, this is hard to change.

“Master Ami doesn’t like people calling Asagi Dojo that.”

Genjiro kindly offered a reminder.

"Hmm?" Tetsuya looked at the other person in confusion.

That's what everyone's saying, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?

“Master Ami and Master Lijia are friends, but she always wants to consult Lijia about clothing and dressing because she feels that her clothes are too unfashionable. She does not think of herself as a so-called ‘young lady’ type.”

Furthermore, the steel badge of the Asagi Gym represents an unwavering spirit and relentless perseverance, which doesn't match up with this.

Genjiro, who has been dealing with Asagi Dojo and Asagi Ranch for decades, is very qualified to speak on this matter.

It's no exaggeration to say that Su Tian and Ami both grew to their current strength as gym leaders under his watchful eye.

Tetsuya nodded in sudden realization.

Indeed, unlike Rika, the leader of the Celadon Gym, who is known for her elegance, Ami is more remembered for her pure and innocent temperament.

And then there's her "impenetrable" core.

This internal and external disparity is what makes it so popular.

Time passed quickly as the old man and the child chatted.

In the blink of an eye, the hands on the wall pointed to the three o'clock position.

"Beep—"

A faint, sharp bird call echoed outside the window.

Genjiro, who was talking to Tetsuya, smiled and said, "The Gym Leader's Pidgeot is back."

Tetsuya's expression changed.

A sudden gust of wind whipped the curtains inside the room, sending dust flying everywhere.

The two of them involuntarily closed their eyes.

"Beep~"

The birdsong was very close this time, and a considerable degree of schadenfreude could be heard in it.

"I've told you so many times, don't make such a big fuss when you come back. My guests and I can't even drink our tea."

With his eyes tightly closed, Genjiro uttered a helpless admonition.

Obviously, if it were useful, Pidgeot wouldn't have done it this way long ago.

Pidgeon curiously approached the stranger with a familiar scent who had suddenly appeared in its rest area.

When Tetsuya opened his eyes, a huge bird's head was right in front of him, and he couldn't help but shrink back.

"This is a guest introduced by the owner of Sutian Pavilion. He came specifically to see you."

Genjiro quickly explained.

He was afraid that the eagle might do something bad.

This big guy is used to being wild.

Upon hearing that it was its own trainer who had summoned it, Pidgeot was not happy at all; instead, it turned its head away.

"He's probably throwing a tantrum, because Master Sutian rarely comes to see Pidgey."

"There's nothing I can do; the curator is usually very busy."

It was Genjiro again; he helplessly explained to Tetsuya.

"Beep~ Beep beep~"

Hearing Genjiro say that, Hayate's Pidgeot was clearly unhappy, and it barked at him several times.

The gist of it is, why are you still siding with him? I've been working so hard here for so long, I deserve some credit even if I haven't done anything great, and he hasn't even come to see me.

Tetsuya's expression was somewhat strange.

This Pidgeot seems to have a slightly different personality.

"Beep—"

Soon, after calling out a few times, Sudoku turned its gaze back to Tetsuya.

Although it has a bit of a temper with its trainer, it still knows what's important.

That's right.

Tetsuya quickly explained his purpose to it.

Before Pidgeon could say anything after hearing Tetsuya's introduction, Genjiro next to him opened his mouth wide into an "o" shape.

He had thought about many things, but he never expected that the other party was seeking a way to break through to the Elite Four level with their Pokémon partner.