Wally had stocked his backpack with as much food and water as he could reasonably carry before setting out on the long journey.
Even so, the first day proved far more difficult than he had anticipated.
By the time night approached, he had traveled only a little more than ten kilometers.
The poor condition of the roads was partly responsible.
His own physical limitations were another matter entirely.
Wally simply wasn’t capable of maintaining a strenuous pace for an entire day.
Whenever exhaustion caught up with him, he stopped to recover.
Whenever hunger became unbearable, he pulled out some Berries or dried food and ate enough to restore his energy.
Fortunately, he wasn’t making the journey completely alone.
Beautifly traveled beside him.
Whenever something dangerous appeared along the road, Wally at least had a reliable companion he could depend upon.
Wally’s destination was Slateport City, a major city and the closest large city to Fallarbor Town.
Even so, it was still about a week’s journey on foot.
Wally wanted to head to Verdanturf Town first and take the Pokémon Breeder examination there.
However, although Verdanturf Town was also located in the Hoenn Region, it was simply too far from where Wally was.
Walking there would take several months.
Besides, there was no way Wally could cross the ocean on foot.
Therefore, the harbor at Slateport City was a place he had no choice but to visit.
Taking a ship was also the fastest way for him to reach Verdanturf Town.
Walking was boring, especially when traveling through the wilderness.
There were unpredictable changes in the weather and dangers that could appear at any moment.
But Wally endured all of it.
Without Trainer registration, he couldn’t even stay at a Pokémon Center after reaching populated areas.
As for hotels, the meager savings he possessed simply wouldn’t allow him to stay in them.
All of his money had been set aside for the Pokémon Breeder examination.
Wally couldn’t afford to waste it.
“Splish…”
Passing by a lake, Wally took out his water pouch, filled it with water, and hurriedly drank.
“Heh.”
He wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and smiled.
After several days of travel, he was finally getting close to Slateport City.
It was Wally’s first time traveling outside for such an extended period, so he had been somewhat unaccustomed to it at first.
Fortunately, he had made it through everything and had gradually become familiar with the feeling.
Along the way, Wally occasionally picked a few brightly colored wild Berries.
He wasn’t doing it for food.
After being properly processed, some Berries could provide considerable benefits to specific Pokémon.
If he gathered enough, he could even sell them for a small amount of money.
That was extremely important to Wally.
A Pokémon Breeder, after all, would probably engage in this sort of work in addition to operating a Pokémon Day Care.
“Flutter, flutter…”
Several Taillow flew over and launched an attack on Beautifly, which was perched on Wally’s shoulder.
Wally was already accustomed to this sort of thing.
Taillow and Wurmple were natural enemies, and even after Wurmple evolved, that relationship would not simply disappear.
If the two Pokémon were on opposing sides, a confrontation like the one before him was perfectly normal.
Only after both were caught and guided by Trainers could their relationship improve to some extent.
The four Taillow flew toward Wally and Beautifly, the tips of their beaks gleaming white.
They were using Peck, a very basic move.
Without giving it much thought, Wally ordered Beautifly to defend.
A silver whirlwind carrying Stun Spore swept out from Beautifly, directly stopping the four Taillow in their tracks.
The difference in strength between the two sides was simply too great.
Watching the Taillow struggle helplessly to flap their wings, Wally and Beautifly did not linger.
They immediately left.
Taillow had no concept of giving up.
If Wally and Beautifly stayed there, they would be subjected to an endless stream of attacks.
“Nice work, Beautifly.”
Wally hurried along another fork in the road and praised Beautifly.
Over the past several days, Beautifly had helped him with countless things.
Its String Shot, in particular, had rescued Wally from difficult situations several times.
“Mmm~”
Beautifly gave a gentle cry, seemingly very pleased by Wally’s praise.
“Let’s keep moving.”
Wally brushed the dust from his clothes.
He felt that Slateport City couldn’t be much farther away.
To be honest, he really wanted to have a huge meal now.
It didn’t need to be anything fancy.
As long as it was a hot, freshly prepared meal, he would be satisfied.
After chewing on dried provisions and Berries for several days, Wally was already growing tired of them.
He was beginning to regret not bringing cooking utensils with him.
…
“That’s strange.
Why is there an Electrike here…?”
Suddenly, a small, dog-like Pokémon appeared in Wally’s field of vision.
It had a greenish body and yellow markings on its face.
There was no mistaking it.
It was an Electrike.
Looking at the dazed Electrike, Wally shook his head.
Electrike was considered a relatively rare Pokémon, and its evolved form, Manectric, was quite impressive as well.
Unfortunately, given Wally’s current finances, he simply couldn’t afford to take care of a second Pokémon.
What’s more, he didn’t have another Poké Ball.
So Electrike’s appearance only surprised Wally slightly.
He didn’t regret his decision, either.
His circumstances meant that he was destined to be unable to catch many Pokémon.
He simply couldn’t provide every Pokémon with the meticulous care it deserved.
High potential and ease of care.
Those were Wally’s two basic criteria for catching Pokémon at the moment.
If Wally wanted to accomplish something great, he needed more than exceptional knowledge.
The strength of his Pokémon couldn’t be too weak, either.
Otherwise, how could he possibly give everyone at Verdanturf House the ability to pursue their dreams?
Giving the people at Verdanturf House the right to choose their own lives was Wally’s greatest wish.
He had already come to regard Verdanturf House as his family and everyone there as his relatives.
He truly didn’t want them to drift through their lives without purpose.
But Wally also knew how difficult that would be.
Compared with simply supporting Verdanturf House as an orphanage, this goal was at least ten times more difficult, perhaps even more.
Providing so many children with favorable conditions was hardly an easy task.
Wally was no longer the ignorant newcomer who had first arrived in this world.
Even obtaining the qualifications to become an ordinary registered Trainer required one hundred thousand Poké Dollars.
That alone was already equivalent to Verdanturf House’s expenses for a very long time.
And that was only the beginning.
There were the costs of obtaining a beginner’s Pokémon, caring for Pokémon, medical treatment, and countless other expenses.
Everything required money.
So even a relatively well-off family would not necessarily dare to support so many children in becoming Trainers and allow them to boldly pursue their dreams and the lives they wanted.
But Wally intended to work toward it.
Verdanturf House represented Grandma Agatha’s life’s work.
Wally had always deeply respected this elderly woman who had cared for him so attentively.
Therefore, Verdanturf House had always been something he treasured.
Besides, in his eyes, his dream wasn’t merely a fool’s fantasy.
Wally simply wanted to give himself a goal.
Something that would motivate him forward.
Whenever he thought about his responsibilities, Wally would sigh deeply.
Then he would remember the protagonists of the novels he had read.
They were free of burdens and lived carefree lives.
He couldn’t help but envy them.
“Call it a fool’s dream if you want.
But while we’re alive, we have to give it everything we’ve got.”
Wally looked up at the sunlight shining through the forest and smiled.
“You agree, don’t you, Beautifly?”
Having gone around Electrike, Wally continued along the forest path.
He had always firmly believed that if a person didn’t have a definite goal in life, then what meaning was there in living?
So even if something seemed impossible to accomplish in the eyes of others, he still wanted to give it a try.
“Hmm?”
Beautifly, fluttering beside him, gave a puzzled cry.
It clearly had no idea what Wally was talking about.
That made Wally burst into laughter.