Chapter 5

For this long journey, Darren had prepared plenty of food and water. On the first day, he only traveled about ten kilometers before it got dark.

The road was difficult to traverse, and his body couldn't withstand prolonged movement.

When tired, he rested for a while, and when hungry, he ate some fruits or dry rations. Fortunately, he had Beautifly accompanying him, so he wasn't completely alone. If he encountered any dangerous situations, he could rely on it for some help.

Darren's destination was Slateport City, a large city that was the closest to him in the Hoenn Region. Even so, it was still a week's journey away.

Darren wanted to go to Lilycove City first to take the breeder's exam, but it was too far away from where he was. If he were to walk, it would take several months, and besides, he couldn't cross the ocean on foot.

Therefore, the port of Slateport City was a place that Darren had to go to. Taking a boat was the fastest way for him to get to Lilycove City.

Walking was boring, especially in the wilderness, where he faced unpredictable weather and dangers that could come at any time. However, Darren persevered through it all.

As someone without the qualifications of a trainer, he couldn't even stay in a Pokemon Center when he arrived in a populated area. As for a hotel, his meager savings didn't allow for such luxuries.

All of this was in preparation for the breeder's exam, and Darren couldn't afford to waste any resources.

"Splash."

Passing by a lake, Darren filled his water bag with water and drank hastily.

"Hehe." Wiping off the water droplets on his mouth, Darren smiled. After a few days of traveling, he was finally close to Slateport City.

This was his first long journey, so Darren had some discomfort, but fortunately, he had overcome it all. He was now familiar with the feeling.

Along the way, Darren occasionally picked some brightly colored wild fruits. This wasn't just to satisfy his hunger; if processed correctly, they could be beneficial to certain Pokemon. If he was well-prepared, he could sell them for a small profit, which was very important to Darren.

Being a breeder, apart from running a daycare, also involved doing these kinds of things.

Flutter…

Several Taillows swooped down and launched an attack on the Beautifly perched on Darren's shoulder. Darren was used to this kind of thing - Taillow and Beautifly were natural enemies.

If these two Pokemon were wild and Beautifly wasn't tamed, it would be easy for a conflict to arise. Only when both were tamed and guided by their trainers could their relationship improve slightly.

Four Taillow flew towards the Beautifly and Darren, their sharp beaks glinting with white light as they used Peck, a basic move. Without much thought, Darren ordered the Beautifly to defend against the attack.

The silver whirlwind of paralysis powder was blown out by the Beautifly, directly stopping the four Taillow in their tracks. There was too much of a level difference between the two, and seeing the Taillow struggling to flap their wings, Darren and Beautifly left the area without delay.

The Taillow didn't know what hardship was, and if Darren and Beautifly had stayed, they would have faced unrelenting attacks.

"Well done, Beautifly."

Darren praised the Beautifly when they reached another fork in the road. Over the past few days, Beautifly had been a great help to him, especially with its String Shot move, which had helped Darren out of many difficult situations.

"Mmm~"

Beautifly let out a gentle call, seeming pleased with Darren's praise.

"Let's continue forward." Dusting himself off, Darren felt that they were not far from Slateport City. To be honest, Darren really wanted to have a big meal now. He didn't need anything particularly delicious, just something warm to eat.

After nibbling on dry rations and fruits for a few days, Darren was getting tired of it, and he regretted not bringing cooking utensils with him.

...

"That's strange, why is there a Electrike here..."

Suddenly, Darren saw a small dog-shaped Pokemon with a green body and a yellow mark on its face. It was obviously a Electrike .

Looking at the staring Electrike , Darren shook his head. Electrike was a rare Pokemon, and its evolved form, Manectric, was also excellent. Unfortunately, with Darren's current financial situation, he couldn't take care of a second Pokemon.

Moreover, he didn't have any spare Poké Balls at the moment. So Electrike 's appearance was just a slight surprise for Darren. But Darren didn't regret it. His situation meant that he couldn't take care of too many Pokemon.

Great potential and easy to take care of, overall, these were Darren's standards for catching Pokemon at the moment. If Darren wanted to achieve something, he not only had to have extraordinary knowledge but also strong Pokemon. Otherwise, how could he give everyone in orphanage the ability to pursue their dreams?

Giving everyone in orphanage the right to choose their own life was Darren's biggest wish. He already regarded orphanage as his family, and he regarded everyone here as his relatives. He didn't want them to live their lives in confusion and aimlessness.

But Darren also knew that it was not easy to achieve this. It was ten times harder than running orphanage. Providing superior conditions for so many children was not easy.

Darren was no longer the naive beginner. Even an ordinary trainer's qualification required a cost of 100,000 Pokedollars , which could keep orphanage's expenses for a long time. And this was just the foundation. The cost of caring for Pokémon, including treating them, couldn't be avoided.

Therefore, even a well-off family wouldn't dare say that it can support so many children to become trainers and pursue their dreams boldly.

But Darren planned to work hard for it. orphanage was a work of love by Grandma Oran, and Darren had always respected this caring old lady. So orphanage had always been a cherished object for Darren. Moreover, in his opinion, his dream was not a pipe dream.

Darren just wanted to give himself a goal, a motivation. Every time he thought of his responsibility, Darren would sigh deeply and then think of the protagonists in the novels he had read. They were all unburdened, carefree, and enviable.

"Even if it's just a pipe dream, in life, you have to give it a try, right, Beautifly?"

Walking past Electrike , Darren smiled as he looked at the sunshine in the sky. He firmly believed that if there was no definite goal in life, what was the point of living? So even if it was something that others thought was impossible to accomplish, he wanted to give it a try.

"Hmm?" Beautifly, flying beside him, called out in confusion, not understanding what Darren was talking about. This made Darren burst out laughing.