"Hello, let me introduce myself. I'm Dr. Hiro. Perhaps your Eevee will recognize me."
As Dr. Hiro approached Minato, he spoke.
"Huh?"
When Dr. Hiro walked over, Minato had already noticed someone approaching, but after the other party spoke, he still froze for a moment before reacting.
This attire...
And the fact that Eevee might recognize him...
"I'm Minato. Hello, are you a doctor from the Pokémon Center?" Minato asked, while waving at Eevee to pause her training.
"Eevee?"
After being called, Eevee braked sharply and quickly ran over.
At the same time, she began looking at the suddenly appeared Dr. Hiro with a confused gaze.
But the next moment, Eevee let out a happy cry.
Clearly, just as the other party had said, Eevee had seen this doctor before.
Minato suddenly realized and said, "So it was Dr. Hiro. Thank you very much for treating Eevee. Her injuries have healed very well."
Dr. Hiro said, "It's all part of my job."
After speaking, he smiled and squatted down to look at Eevee, continuing, "From appearance alone, this Eevee was cared for very well in the early stage. Both spirit and energy are abundant. Also, judging from the fur color... she should drink Miltank milk often, right?"
"Indeed." Minato nodded calmly, but was very surprised in his heart. Could one tell a Pokémon's food just from fur color?
Also, how did he feel that the fur color between Eevees wasn't very different...
Eevee... sorry.
"Ha ha, actually ordinary people can hardly distinguish such subtle differences," Dr. Hiro said. "We have systematic training for this."
"By the way, when treating Eevee, I often detected many Potion ingredients on her body. Compared to the wounds, you used too much. Actually, for ordinary minor injuries, it's fine to leave them as is. For Pokémon, minor scrapes can actually exercise their self-healing ability."
"Eevee?" After hearing this, Eevee, who had been looking at Dr. Hiro somewhat affectionately, immediately stepped back and nearly bared her teeth.
"Thank you, I'll pay attention." Although he didn't know why this Pokémon doctor was so talkative, Minato remembered the experience the other party revealed. During the special training, he often used Potions on Eevee purely because he worried about her injuries, afraid the wounds would worsen.
After hearing this, Eevee looked at Minato with despair again.
What was this... Eevee felt like the whole world was targeting her.
After briefly saying a few words, Dr. Hiro stood up. Even as a Pokémon doctor, he approved of Minato's special training method. This comprehensive training could save considerable time and make it easier for Eevee to integrate and grow evenly.
"Dr. Hiro, aren't you working at the Pokémon Center today?" Minato asked curiously.
"Oh, oh, I'm on leave today." Dr. Hiro tugged at his white coat and said, "I ran out of clean clothes at home, so I had to wear this. Besides, I'm planning to go back for overtime soon, so I didn't change."
"You're from Minami?" Minato asked in surprise.
"Don't I look like it?" Dr. Hiro smiled and said, "Speaking of which, you just became a new Trainer, right? Studying at Heiwa First Academy? By the way, which family are you from?" Dr. Hiro's questions were endless, like a chatterbox. Minato didn't lack time anyway, so he answered casually.
"Yes, I registered for this summer vacation. My grandfather... everyone calls him Kuroda..."
"Hey, you're Old Man Kuroda's grandchild?" Dr. Hiro was somewhat surprised.
"You know my grandfather?"
"The old man plays chess very well. I often watch them play chess by the street," Dr. Hiro said.
Minato was also surprised. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Since they had already chatted for so long, he might as well ask some useful questions. The Pokémon doctor's certificate wasn't easier to obtain than a Breeder's. In terms of Pokémon care, a Pokémon doctor was also half an expert.
"Dr. Hiro, when you examined Eevee's body at the Pokémon Center, did you check her condition? Her last physical was at birth. You know, I'm a new Trainer, and I'm really not confident about the care aspect..." Minato smiled as amicably as possible, wanting to hear the other party's opinion.
"I see." Dr. Hiro nodded. He quite admired that Minato could raise a newborn Eevee to this degree. Also, he could tell that the bond between Eevee and Minato was very good, which was extremely precious.
"Actually, Eevee's development in all aspects is very good..."
"But there's still room for improvement."
"Is Eevee still drinking Miltank milk now?"
"Yes, plus solid food suitable for Normal-type Pokémon bought from Dawn Corporation," Minato said. "Is there a problem?"
"No problem, but seeing how seriously you train, is there something special going on?" Dr. Hiro asked.
"I want to participate in a battle tournament for new Trainers in Metropolis with Eevee," Minato said casually. Anyway, it wasn't something shameful.
"If that's the case, and you focus on improving strength, your current food combination for Eevee isn't the optimal choice," Dr. Hiro thought for a moment and said.
"But you don't need to make major changes. Switch the Miltank milk to 'Lemon Juice Milk' or 'Pinap Juice Milk' mixed with milk produced during Miltank's lactation period, called 'Moomoo Fresh Milk.' Eevee doesn't need to drink it every day. With your current training intensity, about 3 bottles of each per week would suffice."
"Eevee is currently in the growth stage. These two types of milk can make her body stronger and supplement trace nutrients. As for Moomoo Fresh Milk, it can subtly change her constitution, allowing her to more efficiently absorb the results of special training. This way, even if your training intensity increases further, it won't be a problem."
"I'm not a professional Breeder, so I can only give you these suggestions."
Juice milk was a nutritional product blended with special Berries, not ordinary fruit. Moomoo Fresh Milk was the essence of milk produced during Miltank's lactation period. Both had higher nutritional value than ordinary milk, and even had stamina recovery effects. Of course, the price...
Minato coughed dryly, interrupting the conversation.
The reason was simple—two words: broke.
Moreover, such high-end nutritional products need long-term use to be effective. One month would hardly show significant results...
The cost-performance ratio was significantly lower than ordinary Miltank milk!
Minato had to consider carefully.
Dr. Hiro smiled slightly, seeing Minato's embarrassment, but this wasn't his concern. He just found Minato interesting and came over to chat casually. After all, they were both from the same hometown.
However, the two didn't chat for too long. Dr. Hiro left on the pretext of going back to work overtime. Before leaving, he encouraged Minato and Eevee, telling them to keep up the good work.
"This uncle is also from Minami Town?"
Minato had no impression of Dr. Hiro, but he didn't dwell on it too long, treating it as just a small interlude in the special training.
He took in part of the other party's suggestions. As for improving the quality of nutritional products... Minato really had the will but lacked the power.
Unless he and Eevee could win the prize money from the Little Ho-Oh Cup.
But after participating in the Little Ho-Oh Cup, they wouldn't be so urgently in need of nutritional products.
This was completely a catch-22.
"Forget it, continue training," Minato shouted.
"Eevee!"
...
With over thirty days left until the Little Ho-Oh Cup, Minato and Eevee's special training entered its most intense phase.
Minato really wanted to improve Eevee's training efficiency, because besides the current three training contents, they had another important task—
Eevee currently had no move that could counter Ghost-type Pokémon, so during this period, Minato had to come up with a solution.
Otherwise, when they encountered Ghost-type Pokémon as opponents in the Little Ho-Oh Cup, Eevee would have nowhere to cry.
Time...
Passed in the blink of an eye.
Another half a month passed.
No matter how hard or tiring the special training was, Minato and Eevee persisted.
But at the same time, in Heiwa City, at the Trainer Association branch's disaster warning center, a sudden change occurred.
"Preliminary assessment: Special Zone scale is ultra-small."
"Predicted Special Zone appearance location confirmed: Minami Town, coordinates..."
"Reconfirming: Issuing D-level disaster alert."