The Rejected Business

There isn't a specific rule in the League about the age at which someone can own a Pokémon; such matters are rather hard to regulate.

For instance, when a child below the regulated age has their own Pokémon and the League investigates, since there's no registration information, they can simply claim that the Pokémon belongs to their parents or siblings. There's no way to dispute this, so the League usually doesn't interfere in such cases.

However, for those under ten years of age, even if they have their own Pokémon, the League won't recognize them as trainers and will also refuse to register them as trainers.

This means they don't have the right to purchase Pokémon from any of the Day Cares either.

Of course, you might suggest that the parents buy the Pokémon in their name and then transfer them to their child, but in reality, this doesn't work in legitimate Day Cares.

When you purchase a Pokémon from a proper Day Care, they bind the Pokémon's information to you. This information is then transmitted to the League's database, and your citizen information gets updated accordingly. The Pokémon becomes non-transferable.

Day Cares have to pay taxes to the League for their business operations. Each legitimate transaction is recorded. However, some Day Cares might choose to evade taxes illegally, but there's not much that can be done about that.

In the case of this customer, his daughter wasn't of the age to become a trainer yet. Naturally, he wasn't looking to secretly purchase a Pokémon from YoYo Day Care against regulations. So, he came up with the idea of "reservation."

The children who qualify to receive a starter Pokémon from their local Pokémon Professors have their parents pay a fee to the League every year until the day they're eligible to receive their starter Pokémon.

Of course, the total amount paid to the League over the years is less than what they would have paid in the market for an equivalently priced Pokémon. This can be considered one of the League's benefits.

This arrangement shares similarities with Yuga's installment plan in some ways. However, they aren't opting for an installment plan due to financial constraints; it's more of a formality.

This customer proposed to pay a yearly fee to YoYo Day Care just like the starter trainers' parents do to the League. Then, when his daughter becomes old enough to become a trainer, he would come to YoYo Day Care to receive her Pokémon.

Yuga thought for a moment, then got the customer's contact information from Windy and reached out to him after breakfast.

Using a video call, Yuga found it convenient for discussing business, as meeting in person wasn't possible.

"Hello, Mr. Kobayashi," Yuga greeted the middle-aged man on the other end of the video politely. "I'm the owner of YoYo Day Care, Shimizu Yuga."

"Hello, Mr. Shimizu!" Mr. Kobayashi seemed taken aback at seeing Yuga, clearly not expecting the owner of YoYo Day Care to be such a young boy.

But as someone with some experience, he recovered quickly and asked, "I wonder, Mr. Shimizu, what do you think of my proposal?"

Rather than answering his question directly, Yuga posed a question of his own. "Mr. Kobayashi, I assume you're a businessman?"

Mr. Kobayashi nodded in the video, perplexed. "Yes, that's right. I'm a businessman. But does this have something to do with what we're discussing today?"

"No, it doesn't. I just find your proposal very innovative. You seem to have put a lot of thought into purchasing Pokémon from us." Yuga smiled.

"So, that means you agree!" Mr. Kobayashi said excitedly, displaying his deep affection for his daughter.

However, Yuga's next words dashed his hopes.

"No, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your proposal is something we cannot execute."

"Why?" Mr. Kobayashi was visibly confused. If Yuga found his idea good, then why the rejection?

"Mr. Kobayashi, your business dealings are unrelated to the Pokémon industry, correct?" Yuga once again brought up Mr. Kobayashi's business.

"That's right, it has nothing to do with the Pokémon industry." Mr. Kobayashi didn't understand why Yuga kept bringing up his business, but he answered honestly.

"Exactly. If you had experience in the Pokémon industry, you'd understand immediately. Your idea might work well in other fields, and I even think it's a good idea for our industry. However, it's not feasible in practice." Yuga's words were straightforward, but Mr. Kobayashi became even more puzzled.

"Why?"

With patience, Yuga explained:

"Your idea might be great in other industries, and it's certainly appealing in our line of work too. But appealing as it is, the reality is that it can't be practically implemented.

The Pokémon industry is different from other industries. It concerns all the trainers in the Pokémon world and consequently, the world's combat power. As a result, the League's attention to our industry can't be compared to that of other sectors.

Other industries pay taxes based on their profits, but our industry isn't just about profits; we also need to provide proof of the Pokémon sold to the League.

If I were to follow your proposal, I'd receive a sum of money each year, but when it comes to paying taxes, I wouldn't be able to provide the League with proof of the Pokémon sold. What would you suggest in that case?"

After hearing Yuga's explanation, Mr. Kobayashi finally realized that his idea was somewhat presumptuous. He didn't understand the industry at all, yet he had casually given his suggestions.

"Since this method is unworkable, why did you even bother contacting me? It would have been fine to reject me outright," Mr. Kobayashi asked, puzzled.

Yuga replied with a smile, "I initially thought that if you were suggesting this, there must be a way to implement it. If it were possible, I personally would have been quite interested in your proposal. It's just that I didn't expect..."

Yuga's sentence was left unfinished, and Mr. Kobayashi felt quite embarrassed. He quickly apologized, "I'm really sorry; I didn't consider this thoroughly."

Yuga shook his head and said, "It's alright. Your idea itself is good. Maybe one day it'll become feasible!

If you still wish to buy a Pokémon for your daughter when she's old enough, YoYo Day Care will welcome you anytime."

"But your reservation slots..."

Mr. Kobayashi was a bit hesitant. It was extremely challenging to secure a reservation slot at YoYo Day Care. There were only three slots available each month, and with so many people vying for them, there was no shortcut to success. How could he possibly secure one?

Understanding Mr. Kobayashi's predicament, Yuga smiled and reassured him, "Just bring your daughter over when the time comes. Don't worry about the reservation slots. Let's consider it a way for us to become friends."

Mr. Kobayashi hadn't expected such a turn of events. With great excitement, he asked, "Really?"

"Of course, it's true."

After ending the conversation with Mr. Kobayashi, Yuga let out a long sigh. He felt a bit uncomfortable speaking so formally and seriously with others.

Initially, he had thought of expanding the Day Care's business, but it turned out to be a futile effort. However, this experience also opened up new avenues for Yuga's thoughts, allowing him to consider efforts in this direction in the future.

The author just wants to be honest; can't we keep up with voting for recommendation and monthly tickets? Can't we put in a little more effort for subscriptions? Begging all the book-loving friends for their support.