Ryan Ford's parents had met the other party a few times at parent-teacher meetings, so as soon as they saw each other, they immediately started exchanging pleasantries.

Ryan Ford also wanted to chat more with this Mr. Clark, but seeing how engrossed his parents were in conversation, he could only helplessly look over at his classmate.

This Mr. Clark was a legendary figure in Pingcheng—the captain of the Pingcheng Criminal Police Squad, who had solved multiple theft and murder cases involving Pokémon, and was very famous in the city.

This was the first living professional trainer Ryan Ford had ever met...

“Ryan Ford, guess what I...” James Clark said to Ryan Ford.

“Growlithe.” Ryan Ford replied directly.

“You're no fun at all.” James Clark said in a bored tone.

Getting guessed halfway through the sentence—so frustrating.

“No need to guess, it's obvious...” Ryan Ford couldn't be bothered to complain. This James Clark had been raised as a cop by Mr. Clark since childhood; the whole class knew it. And Growlithe and Arcanine were basically standard issue for police officers in Huaguo.

Growlithe, clever, brave, and loyal, with a keen sense of smell—once it has smelled something, it will never forget it, no matter what happens. It can sense others' emotions through scent, and is known as the Pokémon most suited to being a police dog.

Although this Pokémon was quite rare, with James Clark's family background, reserving one was a breeze, and they could easily afford to raise it.

Running into his classmate was just a coincidence, since they were headed the same way, so the two families walked together for a while. But as they neared the breeding house, since they needed to find their respective guides, they had to part ways.

After the Lin family left, Mr. Ford suddenly stroked his chin and said, “Son, are you planning to date after graduation?”

“A waste of time.” Ryan Ford replied calmly.

“I think this James Clark is pretty good.” Mr. Ford said seriously.

“Just afraid she wouldn't be interested in your son.” Mrs. Ford said.

“...” Ryan Ford looked up at the sky.

His parents were great in every way, except they were a bit unreliable. Exhausting.

...

“You're number 51, the Ryan Ford family, right?”

“Yes, that's us.”

After arriving, Mr. Ford made a phone call. Soon, a young man with glasses walked out of the breeding house, smiling as he greeted them.

Seeing this person, Ryan Ford perked up—finally, it was about to begin.

“Thank you all for your patience. Please follow me. Oh, by the way, my name is Henry White.” After finding his guests, the young man with glasses who had come out of the breeding house smiled again.

Public breeding houses and Pokémon Centers were both subordinate institutions of the Trainer Association. Currently, in Huaguo, the only places legally allowed to sell Pokémon and Pokémon eggs were public breeding houses.

Purchasing or selling Pokémon through other channels was illegal, though there were rare exceptions.

It's worth mentioning that the owners and most employees of breeding houses were officially certified breeders who had passed the Breeder Association's exams. They were well-versed in the care and breeding of many Pokémon, including incubation and nurturing.

So every Pokémon egg or Pokémon sold at a public breeding house had good potential and was free of disease. As for the price... naturally, it was a bit higher.

Though called a “house,” the place was actually huge, like a plaza, with a full range of categories.

As the three of them followed their guide inside, they listened to the young man with glasses introduce the place, nodding repeatedly.

“Before coming, I imagine you, Mr. Ford, have already looked into the types of Pokémon eggs we offer. Is there any particular one you have your eye on?”

“We don't really know much, so we'll let the child choose. The school taught them about it, but he said he wanted to see for himself before deciding.”

Said Mrs. Ford.

“That’s a good idea—let the child decide for himself.” said Henry White.

Chapter 5: Looks Are Justice

“Brother Henry White, do you have any Bulbasaur eggs at the breeding house?”

As they walked, Ryan Ford suddenly asked. According to his breeding plan, the best fit was actually Bulbasaur, which he hadn't expected.

“Bulbasaur?”

Faced with Ryan Ford's question, the guide Henry White was slightly taken aback. He recalled that neither the breeding house's brochure nor the website had detailed information about Bulbasaur—first, because they were quite rare, and second, because this Pokémon was mainly found in the south.

Bulbasaur was both niche and not very cool-looking. Why would this kid named Ryan Ford be interested in it?

Henry White couldn't figure it out.

“Well... I don't think we have any right now, but if you reserve one, I think we could get it here within a week.” After thinking for a moment, Henry White replied.

“No problem... then let's look at the other Pokémon eggs first.” Ryan Ford breathed a sigh of relief. Not having it made things easier—no need to agonize over it. He really didn't like Bulbasaur much.

Aside from whether to choose Bulbasaur, Ryan Ford was still considering what other Pokémon to pick. If not Bulbasaur, Bellsprout or Oddish would also do.

However, Ryan Ford had other thoughts as well.

Although he had spent the past half month working on a grass-type Pokémon breeding plan, Ryan Ford was a bit nervous.

Because he wasn't very confident in that plan.

He had zero breeding experience and was a complete rookie. In reality, raising Pokémon couldn't be as simple as “leveling up by fighting monsters”—it had to be more rigorous. So rather than experimenting with his own ideas on his very first Pokémon, Ryan Ford wanted to wait until he had enough experience and had scientifically validated his breeding method before putting it into practice.