Birch was a veteran Pokémon Breeder.
He had reached the rank of Master Breeder many years ago, and even now, he held an important position at the Breeder headquarters.
He was also Joy’s teacher.
Born into the Joy family, Joy had been exceptionally intelligent from a young age.
When it came to the profession of Pokémon Breeding in particular, she had demonstrated extraordinary talent.
“I seem to remember that the best record at the Breeder headquarters is also a ten-year-old passing the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination, isn’t it?”
Looking at Wally and Joy beside him, Professor Birch smiled faintly, already looking forward to seeing how they would perform in the examination.
As a Master Breeder, he naturally understood how difficult it was for a child who had just turned ten to qualify as a Junior Pokémon Breeder.
But that was precisely what made Wally and Joy’s talent so remarkable.
Take the Joy family, for example.
Every Nurse Joy stationed at a Pokémon Center was at least an Intermediate Pokémon Breeder.
Even so, the average age at which members of the Joy family passed the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination was around fourteen or fifteen—and that was with formal instruction from childhood within the family.
So far, the youngest person on record to pass the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination was ten years old.
Since the profession had been formally established, that remained the record.
A child who came to apply for the examination at only ten years old was almost as rare as a legendary Pokémon.
Joy’s case was relatively understandable.
She came from an excellent background and had been exposed to a tremendous amount of knowledge from an early age.
Once her talent became apparent, her family had even invited Birch himself to teach her.
Reaching the Junior Pokémon Breeder level at ten was therefore quite reasonable.
But this boy Wally was another matter entirely.
Birch was an experienced old man.
From Beautifly’s development, as well as Wally’s clothes and habits, he could tell that the boy hadn’t come from a particularly privileged background.
And that was precisely why he couldn’t help admiring Wally’s talent.
Having a renowned teacher guide you and teaching yourself were two completely different things.
Every generation produces its share of outstanding talents.
Having grown old, Professor Birch couldn’t help feeling admiration as he looked at Wally.
There was even a desire to nurture such a promising talent.
If circumstances allowed, he wanted to accept Wally as a disciple and pass his knowledge down to him.
That was where Wally differed from Joy.
Wally was an ordinary boy without a powerful family supporting him.
Joy, on the other hand, had her entire family behind her.
Birch had merely been invited to teach her the fundamentals.
As for passing down the techniques and knowledge that belonged to him as a master, that naturally required a formal master-disciple relationship.
Birch was, after all, a very traditional old man.
Of course, Wally was only an unexpected discovery.
Before deciding anything, Birch still needed to examine Wally’s character and background.
For now, he merely considered the boy promising.
“Teacher?”
Joy softly called out to the distracted Professor Birch, noticing that the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward.
“Oh, oh, nothing.
I’m getting old, so my thoughts don’t move as quickly as they used to.
Hehe.”
Professor Birch stretched lazily.
There was hardly any of the imposing presence one might expect from a Master Breeder.
“Wally, you came here by yourself, didn’t you?
Why don’t you travel with us?
We’re all heading to the examination anyway.
We can look after one another.”
Professor Birch glanced around before making the suggestion.
Wally was stunned for a moment.
There was no reason to refuse.
To him, an invitation from a Master Breeder was an opportunity.
For someone who had grown up in a poor place like Verdanturf House, traveling alongside such a person could very well become the most important turning point of his life.
“It would be my honor to travel with you, Professor Birch.”
Wally accepted.
Hearing his answer, Birch smiled proudly.
Meanwhile, Joy looked toward Wally as well, curious to see just what this boy her own age was capable of.
“Hahaha, good.
We still have some time before we reach Verdanturf Town.
Why don’t I give you two a little test?”
Professor Birch had suddenly become interested in gauging Wally’s true level.
Naturally, neither of them could refuse.
The three of them returned to one of the ship’s rooms.
After thinking for a moment, Birch began firing one question after another at them.
Fortunately, although some of his questions were rather tricky, they were still within the scope of the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination.
Wally could handle eight or nine out of every ten questions.
As Birch continued questioning them, he gradually gained a better understanding of both youngsters.
If there was one major difference between Joy and Wally, it was probably the breadth of their knowledge.
Joy had Birch’s guidance and a powerful family background.
The amount of knowledge she had encountered and the practical experience she possessed were far beyond what Wally could match.
However, Wally had better comprehension and reasoning skills than Joy.
In other words, he was extremely quick-witted, able to process information rapidly, with exceptionally strong logical thinking.
“You’re both outstanding.
The Junior Pokémon Breeder examination won’t be able to give either of you much trouble.”
Birch smiled.
His praise was primarily directed at Wally.
After all, Joy was his student, and he already knew her abilities extremely well.
“Impressive!”
Joy also expressed her admiration for Wally.
It was the first time the girl had genuinely admired someone her own age.
Wally’s knowledge had astonished her.
After a brief silence, Birch looked at the two exceptionally talented youngsters before him and sighed.
In recent years, outstanding Trainers had appeared one after another, but the field of Pokémon Breeding seemed to be suffering from a lack of successors.
Now that a new generation of talented youngsters like Wally and Joy had appeared, Birch, as a senior figure in the Breeder community, felt deeply gratified.
After thinking for a moment, Professor Birch posed another question to the two youngsters.
“What do you think a Pokémon Breeder is?”
This question was different from the ones he’d asked earlier, leaving both of them momentarily stunned.
After several seconds of thought, Wally tentatively answered,
“A Trainer who helps Pokémon grow to their full potential?”
Joy’s answer was more or less the same.
Birch nodded and smiled.
“That’s not a bad answer.
But would you like to hear my own view?”
“Of course.”
Wally and Joy answered simultaneously.
After gathering his thoughts, Professor Birch began.
“In my view, the profession of Pokémon Breeding encompasses many things.
What you described—helping Pokémon grow to their full potential—is indeed one of the defining aspects of a Breeder.
“But the profession isn’t nearly that simple.
“In fact, different Breeders tend to specialize in different fields.
“Take Joy’s family, for example.
Most members have achieved tremendous accomplishments in Pokémon medicine and care.
“As for the kind of Breeder you described, the very best among them can thoroughly understand a Pokémon’s habits and characteristics and create the ideal development plan for it.
“A Pokémon raised under such a Breeder can develop in every aspect to a level that is in no way inferior to the ace Pokémon of top Trainers.
“Some Breeders can even look at a Pokémon’s development and immediately identify its potential and innate talent.”
“The most famous example is Master Aien.
“He once helped a young boy who was at a loss about which Pokémon to choose.
He told the boy, ‘Choose this one as your first Pokémon.
As long as you don’t disappoint me too badly, you’ll have a place in the future of this world.’
“Later, that boy and his Pokémon eventually grew into one of the Elite Four.”
“Then there’s Master Ayaro.
His greatest achievement was helping a Snorlax that had been abandoned because of its poor natural talent learn nearly forty moves, spanning several different Types.”
“So, in my opinion, every Pokémon Breeder is an extraordinary individual.”
Birch chuckled.
“Then what about you, Professor Birch?” Wally asked instinctively after hearing those examples.
“Me?”
Birch smiled.
“I’ve always specialized in studying Pokémon inheritance.”
He didn’t hide his area of expertise at all.
Author’s Note
Pokémon Breeding is the central profession running throughout this novel.
It is sometimes translated as “Breeder,” but I personally prefer the term Pokémon Breeder, because it encompasses a broader and deeper concept.
In the world I’ve created, items such as Potions, Antidotes, Full Heals, X Defenses, and even Rare Candies are all products of Pokémon Breeders’ work.
The Joy family is also essentially a Breeder family.
They monopolize almost all Pokémon medical and caregiving knowledge across the world, with virtually no one able to rival them in this field.
In Pokémon Emerald, there is also an individual in the Battle Frontier who evaluates a Pokémon’s individual values and is referred to as a top Pokémon Breeder.
If we place that concept into a realistic world, I think it makes sense to describe Individual Values as a Pokémon’s talent or potential.
Of course, effort and training after birth are also extremely important.
Items such as Silver Powder, Spell Tag, Repels, and countless others can all fall under the broad and fascinating profession of Pokémon Breeding.
That’s the kind of world I want to show everyone.
The identity of a Pokémon Breeder will assist Wally greatly on his journey toward becoming an outstanding Coordinator and Trainer!