Getting Ready

"The first is a website. We will also make a website and list all the locations of our restaurants. There would also be a review section in each of the restaurants. 

If the reviews start to go bad past a certain point, the restaurant would have to permanently close. We will give them 25% of the application fee as a return and tell them to close the place. That would save our reputation."

Everyone nodded their heads. That must be done. They didn't want their brand reputation to go bad. This was the necessary evil.

"Secondly, we will offer to buy the restaurant itself. After receiving application fees, material fees, and profit share, we will have a lot of money. So, buying a couple of restaurants would not be a big deal for us. If we were to buy the restaurant, then we would not pay 25% of the application fee."

"Axel, why would we buy the restaurant? Wouldn't we be making a loss?", asked his mother. His mother was very particular about money. After opening the business, she wanted to earn more and save more.

"We will buy the restaurant for 3 reasons. First, all interiors would be for us to use and we can transfer that to other new restaurants. Secondly, we can sell that restaurant as a franchise to another owner if someone wants to buy it.

And lastly, we can open a completely different restaurant with different recipes. That is where the new recipes come in.

Each series of new recipes would require new interiors, new outlooks and new outfits. Everything would be new because it would be a new concept. That new restaurant would still be under our brand name but the name of the restaurant would be different.

Don't worry, I have made some plans and we will be able to pull it off within a year if we need to do it."

"So, everything you are saying sounds right but everything is new. I am afraid that we might lose a lot.", said Arron.

It was a normal reaction. Axel had said a lot of things and his family didn't know anything about it. Axel told his father to calm down. He also told the family that they should save some money while doing all these new things.

If everything went haywire, they could just close all of it. They would still have some saved money and they could start something new.

###

Axel's new business plan was an eye-opener for the group. They had not heard about such a business plan before. They were also from prominent families and their families had also trained them in their business venture.

Axel's business idea was very unique and theoretically, they worked. They didn't know the practical implications of it. So, it was a risky plan.

The group was also surprised that Axel told this secret business plan in front of them. None of them would have done that if they were in Axel's place. This business plan could revolutionize the industry and Axel just said it out loud. However, now they were in a conundrum. They wanted to experiment in this business plan but they didn't want to cheat on Axel.

The group was not informed that Axel did it intentionally. First of all, even though it was a very good business plan, there were a lot of risks. So, even if they want to it would take a lot of time to apply and Axel would be the first to do it.

Secondly, even if they did it, Axel could ask them for compensation for using his business plan and finally, Axel would need a lot of help to flourish his business in the future. He would need business partners and they were the perfect target.

###

The next day,

Axel was the first to wake up. The group was still very tired from the journey and they were sleeping soundly. Axel went down to the kitchen and he saw his mother cooking breakfast. 

"Come on sit down. It is almost ready.", said his mother.

As Axel was about to sit down, he heard a scream from his mother.

"Axel Blaze, what the hell are you doing? Go wash your hands first. This is not your adventure, this is your home!!!"

Axel could only go and wash his hands first. His mother was really strict in this kind of thing. Axel may be a powerhouse for the outside world but he was just a small child in front of his mother.

The breakfast was served and Axel started to eat.

"So, when are you going to ask Kate to marry you?"

"Huh? What do you mean, mom?"

"Oh, I can see how you were looking at her. Do you think I can't tell what is going on in your mind? I am your mother!!"

"Susshhh.. Mom, you are making it a big thing. I don't have time to focus on that thing. I have to be a Pokemon master first."

"So, you are admitting that you like that girl."

"No, I am not. I just said I wanted to become a Pokemon master first."

"Axel, time doesn't wait for anyone. What is to say when you finally become a Pokemon master, she will already be married."

"Mom, I already said, I don't have time for all these useless things."

"Sigh, it looks like you are still a naive kid.", said his mother sighing at her son's stupidity.

"What do you mean?"

"You think that being with her would make you weak. But that is just the opposite."

"Huh? Well, that is just true. I will waste my time on these useless things and will not have time to train. Besides, I don't even know if she likes me."

"That is where you are wrong. Yes, you would have to spend some time with her but you will also get a lot of benefits.

Son, you are talented, hardworking, and a genius. Do you know the only thing that you lack the most?", asked his mother.

"Huh? What? I don't lack anything right now. I just lack the time to become a Pokemon master."

"No, you lack emotional support. Axel, for now, you have me, your father, your uncle, and your sister. But when you get older, who will you have?

All of us would be too cold to care and your sister would have your own adventure. You will all be alone. Look around you. Do you have anyone, other than us that you can share everything?

No, you don't. So, you must have a life partner with whom you could share your feelings."

Axel had never thought in that sense. His mother was not wrong. He had friends but Axel also knew that they were not so close to him. Almost all of them were his work friends and even though he could share things with people like Lance and K, he knew that he could share it all. He could not be vulnerable with them.

They regarded him as their leader. Someone they wish to compete with, so he could not share all the things with them.

Axel was thinking that his mother had started to talk about his marriage so early in life, so he was not paying attention. But his mother started to say something serious and now he had to think about it.

"Ok, mom. I will think about it."

"Good, that is all I want to hear. Now, do you like another omelet?"

###

Today, Axel was checking the progress of Dragonite, Agnes's Pokemon. It it been a year since she had got one and it was already a rare rank Pokemon. This was partially due to Axel's talent and partially due to Dragonite's and Agnes's hard work.

"Dragonite, you have grown very well. I can see that you are a strong rare rank Pokemon.", said Axel praising Dragonite. 

ROOOARR

It gave a happy roar after being praised. 

"Dragonite and I have been training very well. We were also able to create a new move."

"Really now? Can I see it?", asked Axel.

"I will show it to you in the competition.", said Agnes acting mysteriously.

###

Slowking was also looking at Slowemperor. It was surprised that Slowemperor was just another evolution of Slowpoke. It could feel that Slowemperor was vastly more powerful than itself.

Meanwhile, Axel could feel that Scizor was going to rank up to king rank. It was a training junkie and it loved to train all the time. It had to sit idle for a long time and now that it was fully healed, it wanted to become reach king rank as fast as possible.

Training grounds have also helped Scizor and Dragonite to become powerful. Arcanine, Ninetales, and Slowking were also taking advantage of it. Axel was happy that their family was getting stronger. 

When Scizor reaches king rank, Axel would be sure of his family's protection. King rank was not a joke. Very few Pokemons could reach King rank in their lifetime.

"Axel, who else would be participating in the competition?", asked Noah. He was now making a list of participant and the number of Pokemon with their ranks.

"All of us. I will ask the group about their list of Pokemons but I also want to do something different this time.", said Axel.

"Oh, what do you have in mind?"

"I want to call other talented trainers from prominent families for the competition. If we do this, our competition would be famous."

"That is a good way to go. Ok, try to call others but I need the name of the trainer and the details of their Pokemons by night."

"Yes, I will do that."

Axel had some reasons to call those famous young trainers. Most of the money from the restaurant had been used in making the stadium. Axel had to get a return on it. By inviting all those people, a lot more people would come to see the competition. It may not have a huge increase this time cause only a week was left before the start of the competition. However, the crowd would increase after 6 months.

Other than the money, Axel could also make a good relationship with these people. He could also observe their battle style and their training. There were a lot of benefits associated with it.

So, he immediately called Lyra and Lorelai. These were the trainers that he had met in his first exploration representing Kanto region. 

Lorelai immediately agreed to come. She also wanted to meet the gang and see a new place.

"So, you are inviting me for the fight?", asked Lyra.

"Yes, Lance and others are also coming. Do you want to come too?", asked Axel.

"Yes, of course, I want to come. Can I invite others too? I have some friends in the family that would want to join your competition."

"Yes of course. But you can only call 2 of them and they must be near our age."

"Ok, done. I will send you the list of Pokemons and the name of my friends after an hour."

"Thanks. I will be waiting."

Saying that Axel cut off the phone. There were 3 members of Venu family in this competition including Axel. So, he figured that if someone from the Toise family would want to participate, the number should not increase more than 3. Lyra was from the Toise family.

Axel also offered the same condition to Ryker and Kate as they were from Zard family. However, as per Ryker, there were no others who were interested in this competition as the Zard family was busy doing something.

Axel understood and after an hour, he had the list of participants and also the list and the ranks of Pokemons that wanted to fight. 

They were finally getting ready for the competition. Noah was going to advertise the name of the trainer and the Pokemons tomorrow. Hakone City was excited to see an intense battle among the young trainers.