March 10th.
Two weeks had passed since the attack on the Breeding Center.
During this period, lawyers representing both Balu and Coronet Company had already made their appearances. As Lance had predicted, Coronet Company completely distanced themselves from Balu's actions.
Wayne remained deeply impressed by Coronet Company's legal department representative—a man dressed impeccably in a suit and tie, sporting a practiced, professional smile.
"That was Balu's illegal act committed in violation of his franchise contract, and we will hold Balu accountable according to our contractual terms," the lawyer stated smoothly. "However, that's not what we're discussing today. Based on humanitarian principles, Coronet Company is willing to provide financial support to Jubilife Breeding Center."
From Coronet Company's perspective, this legal representative was undoubtedly doing his job well.
"Coronet Company will never interfere with your right to claim compensation from Mr. Balu. We only hope that you do not list Coronet Company as a joint liability party when filing your lawsuit."
Simply put, Coronet Company wanted to protect its corporate reputation.
Coronet Breeding House was merely a franchise of Coronet Company. Even though it was Balu's personal action, Wayne could still list Coronet Company as a co-defendant when filing his lawsuit.
Due to the widespread circulation of the Sinnoh NOW video, Coronet Company had already suffered some reputational damage. If they were sued as well, it would be extremely detrimental to Coronet Company's public image.
Coronet Company was in an aggressive expansion phase—if their reputation suffered further, those expansion plans would be dead in the water.
"As long as you sign this settlement agreement, one million will be yours," the lawyer offered.
Wayne's family's actual losses didn't amount to anywhere near one million. Replacing the main entrance door and redecorating the service center's exterior wall came to about 160,000 Pokédollars.
That amount wasn't particularly large—the League's minimum hourly wage was 1,100 Pokédollars, for reference. The invoice was primarily for negotiations with Balu's lawyer; Coronet Company was demonstrating their sincerity.
Since they were being sincere, Wayne wasn't inclined to be aggressive either.
Wayne glanced at the "Waiver of Prosecution Statement" and realized he didn't fully understand all the legal terminology.
"May I make a phone call?" he asked politely.
"Of course," the lawyer agreed readily.
Wayne dialed Lance's number. "Lance, are you free right now?"
The legal representative sat there, visibly stunned. Calling the Chief Investigator Lance by his given name! The lawyer couldn't help but think, This guy's got serious connections!
In reality, Coronet Company's willingness to offer such generous compensation was, to a significant extent, due to Lance and Cynthia's involvement. Furthermore, Wayne's own video account had gained considerable influence. Otherwise, wanting compensation? Impossible. They'd say: Go ahead and sue. The losing party would definitely be Jubilife Breeding Center.
A series of explosive sounds crackled through from the other end of the line. Wayne hadn't expected Lance to be able to answer his call under such circumstances. Lance was truly carrying a heavy burden!
"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" Lance commanded in the background.
The explosive sounds from the other end significantly diminished.
"I'm free now. What do you need?" Lance asked.
Wayne inquired, "Is the Waiver of Prosecution Statement legally binding?"
Lance explained clearly, "From the League's legal perspective, it's not binding on criminal proceedings—those continue regardless. Morally speaking, if you accepted settlement money and then sued anyway, it would look bad. If you really did sue after signing, it would damage your reputation."
Understanding now, Wayne signed his name. The legal representative handed the payment card to Wayne with both hands, adopting a respectful posture.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
After all, this was someone who casually called Chief Investigator Lance by his given name. Combined with the compensation agreement from Balu's lawyer, the matter of hiring criminals to destroy the Breeding Center was finally over.
Construction at the Breeding Center was proceeding at full speed.
The two guard booths had been built first, and Arcanine and Luxray had already begun their security duties. Leon had released recruitment information earlier, temporarily hiring two security guards, with plans to hire two more later for full shift coverage.
An Elite-level Arcanine guarding the main entrance meant the Breeding Center's safety factor had increased by at least tenfold. Should anyone be foolish enough to attempt damaging the Breeding Center again, Arcanine would demonstrate exactly what an elite police Pokémon from a K-9 unit was capable of.
After becoming the Breeding Center's guardian, Arcanine was vibrant and energetic every day. Compared to its sickly appearance when it first arrived, the transformation was complete.
Feebas's activity range had also increased. At least it no longer hid in the rockery whenever it saw people—that represented clear progress.
The egg-hatching equipment had been set up and power-tested successfully. The Piplup and Turtwig provided by the League had arrived. Now they just needed proper care to allow them to breed and produce eggs.
In addition to Piplup and Turtwig, the Breeding Center had ultimately chosen Eevee for breeding from among various popular Pokémon. The choice made perfect sense—Eevee had the most evolution possibilities, and they could sell Evolution Stones alongside the Pokémon themselves.
With official League support, they could acquire Evolution Stones at relatively reasonable prices. Fire Stones, Water Stones, and Thunder Stones—which were relatively abundant—had market prices ranging from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 Pokédollars, fluctuating based on quality and stored energy.
Of course, there were also Evolution Stones exceeding 2,000,000 Pokédollars, but those were exceptionally rare specimens. As for the legendary Fire, Water, and Thunder Stones that could be used infinitely, those were priceless national treasures.
The Breeding Center could potentially breed more Pokémon species in the future, but with their current resources and manpower, breeding three species was already quite demanding. After all, they all had other responsibilities—breeding Pokémon was just one aspect of their work.
Additionally, the 24th Annual Youth Breeder Competition would be held in Hearthome City on March 27th. Wayne had already registered to participate.
Ding-a-ling—
Today, the Breeding Center was closed for the day because Wayne's educational workshop was about to begin.
Over the past few days, Wayne had consulted extensively with Blue about egg-hatching knowledge through their group chat. When Wayne's class started, even his father Leon sat down with a small notebook in hand—not the grudge-keeping kind, just for taking notes.
Because Wayne had filmed video tutorials and taken Blue's classes before, he had relatively extensive teaching experience. He naturally assumed the role of lecturer.
"When discussing Pokémon Eggs, we must mention Professor Samuel Oak's research," Wayne began. "He was one of the pioneers in documenting the existence of Pokémon Eggs and observing the breeding process."
A photo appeared on the projector screen, along with various patterns of different Pokémon Eggs.
"The moment a Pokémon lays an egg was first systematically observed and recorded by researchers working under Professor Oak's guidance," Wayne continued.
"Before this breakthrough research, some scholars even believed that Pokémon Eggs came from an unknown dimension or parallel world."
Brother Alan interjected, "That seems pretty far-fetched, doesn't it?"
"I agree completely. After the publication of proper research papers, that theory was quickly disproven," Wayne replied. "We now know that Pokémon Eggs are produced by Pokémon of compatible Egg Groups and opposite genders."
"The offspring Pokémon is always the basic form of the mother Pokémon—with one notable exception: Ditto. Ditto can breed with Pokémon from other Egg Groups, and the offspring will always be from the non-Ditto parent's species."
"Taking our current breeding stock as examples: Turtwig and Piplup belong to different Egg Groups. They can display affection toward each other, but they cannot produce eggs together."
"Additionally, recent research suggests some Pokémon may belong to secondary Egg Groups, though this research is still ongoing."
Brother Alan exclaimed enthusiastically, "I'm learning so much!"
At that same moment, a mechanical notification echoed in Wayne's mind.
"Ding! The second phase of 'Advancing Breeding House: A Place' task objective (1000/1000) has been completed. Calculating reward..."