Tasks and Coincidences

Kaname Hirakawa fell to the ground with a thud after being thrown by the Seviper. Feeling extremely embarrassed with so many people watching, he quickly scrambled to his feet and said angrily, "A duel is a duel; why would I be afraid of you?"

With that, he pulled out a Poké Ball and released a Dodrio.

"Dodrio!!!"

As soon as Dodrio emerged, its three heads, each with a different expression, raised up and glared fiercely at the Seviper beside Luna. They were old rivals, and neither could stand the sight of the other.

"Then let's do this!"

Luna declared as she extended her finger forward. The Seviper vanished in an instant like lightning, reappearing right next to Dodrio and quickly wrapping its slender body around Dodrio several times using the Wrap move.

"Dodooo!"

Due to the tight grip, Dodrio let out a sharp cry and twisted its neck, trying to use its Peck skill to jab at the Seviper's vulnerable spot.

Seeing this, the Seviper quickly slid to the side, avoiding the critical area just in time. Dodrio's sharp beak hit the Seviper's back instead.

Boom!!!

The Seviper cried out in pain and violently tossed Dodrio into the air, then raised its long tail and used Iron Tail to send Dodrio flying, causing it to crash heavily at the edge of the battlefield.

"Dodrio!"

Kaname Hirakawa exclaimed anxiously, but Dodrio quickly got back up, its determination intensifying. It set off running with its strong legs, using Quick Attack to charge at the Seviper.

The Seviper remained still, coiled on the ground, expressionless as it raised its defenses and attack. Its crimson eyes glared ominously at the charging Dodrio.

As Dodrio was about to reach it, the Seviper suddenly sprang up. At the same time, Dodrio leaped into the air as well.

Bang!

The Seviper's Poison Jab collided with Dodrio's Peck, and they quickly separated again. Both Pokémon suffered injuries, but Dodrio was worse off; it had fallen into a poisoned state due to the Seviper's Poison Jab.

The poisoned state not only caused continuous loss of stamina but also inflicted pain from the toxic corrosion on its body.

Originally, Dodrio's strength was similar to that of the Seviper, but once it became poisoned, its chances of winning were virtually gone.

As expected, not long after, Dodrio's pain distracted it, and it was knocked away by the Seviper's tail. It kicked its legs a couple of times but couldn't get back up.

"Hmph!"

Luna recalled her Seviper with a haughty smirk and walked away proudly, leaving Kaname Hirakawa fuming with rage. But one couldn't blame anyone; after all, he had provoked her first.

Kaname Hirakawa resentfully recalled Dodrio. His matches against Luna always ended with him losing more than winning, and he consistently fell victim to the Seviper's poison.

The training base in Meteor Valley has strict rules, and soon, the duel between Luna and Kaname Hirakawa reached their coach's ears. The two were called to the office.

"Let's hear it; you must have a reason for fighting," the coach said with a headache.

"It's his fault for being so annoying," Luna muttered softly, but both the coach and Kaname Hirakawa heard her loud and clear, especially Kaname Hirakawa, whose face flushed with anger.

"Your mouth is too sharp; can't you speak a little more pleasantly?" the coach slammed the table, making a loud noise.

"I'm just speaking the truth; who told him to keep provoking me?" Luna argued back.

The coach, upon hearing this, helplessly rubbed his forehead and then criticized Kaname Hirakawa, saying, "What's wrong with you? Why do you keep bothering this girl? Can't you just keep your distance from her?"

Few people knew that Luna was Yuga's cousin, but the coach happened to be one of them, which is why he paid particular attention to her.

Luna excelled in her studies, trained diligently, and progressed quickly, which pleased the coach. The only downside was her poor interpersonal skills; her only friend had been dismissed not long ago, so the coach understood her feelings.

Kaname Hirakawa was also an excellent team member, performing on par with Luna in every aspect and being more sociable than she was. The only issue was that he always picked on her.

Their constant squabbles every few days gave the coach a headache.

"I…" The coach's words left Kaname Hirakawa speechless for a long moment.

"You're teammates, and you'll need to carry out missions together in the future. How can this continue? If there's a dispute during a mission, who will take responsibility?" The coach earnestly tried to persuade them.

However, both of them took the coach's advice in one ear and out the other, not caring at all.

"Alright, alright, you can go back for now." The coach waved his hand in exasperation, allowing them to leave.

But the next day, the two were called back into the coach's office.

Looking at them as they entered, the coach said, "I called you here today to assign you a mission."

"A mission?" Luna asked, puzzled. "But aren't we still in special training? Can we take on missions if we aren't formal members yet?"

Kaname Hirakawa looked equally confused.

The coach explained, "Before you officially become part of the organization, each of you has an evaluation mission. Normally, you wouldn't be up for evaluation yet, but given your special circumstances, I thought it best to conduct it early. With your abilities, you should be just fine."

Coincidentally, the investigation bureau had a beginner-level mission that was very suitable for newcomers. The coach thought it would be perfect for the two to improve their relationship by working together.

"Why do I have to go with Luna? Can't I partner with someone else?" Kaname Hirakawa said unwillingly.

"Yeah! I'd rather have a different teammate. I could go alone; I just don't want to be paired with this guy!" Luna chimed in.

Although they both agreed on not wanting to team up, hearing Luna express her disdain for him only made Kaname Hirakawa angrier: I don't even dislike you, yet you dislike me!

The coach, after listening to their remarks, frowned and said sternly, "Is it your turn to have opinions? I'm notifying you, not consulting you.

"Alright, go back for now. I'll send you the mission details shortly; you can pack up and head out. Don't worry; this task isn't too difficult, and as long as you work together, you can complete it easily."

"But…" Luna still wanted to argue.

"Enough…" Under the coach's unwavering gaze, Luna stormed out of the office in a huff.

Meanwhile, far away in Alola, Ayashi and Arata Sena were encountering trouble.

The Alola region is different from others, it was surrounded entirely by ocean, consisting mainly of four large islands: Melemele Island, Ula'ula Island, Akala Island, and Poni Island, along with numerous smaller islands scattered around.

Ayashi and Arata Sena found themselves on a small island closest to Akala Island. While adventuring on the island, a strange spatial portal suddenly appeared around them.

Out of curiosity, the two approached the portal, but they were inadvertently sucked in by a tremendous force emanating from it. The portal then seemed to shake as if satisfied before disappearing completely.

However, a series of strange roaring sounds could be heard from the other side of the portal.

Not long after Luna and Kaname Hirakawa left the coach's office, they received the details of their mission from the coach. Their task was to go to Alola to investigate the traces of a criminal gang.

This gang was a small poaching group that had fled to Alola after committing crimes in Hoenn. However, for some unknown reason, they suddenly went missing near Akala Island.

The main objective of their trip was to ascertain the whereabouts of this poaching gang and report their findings to the local police department. The police would then provide appropriate leads to the two and assist in capturing the gang once they located them.

Despite their reluctance, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa set off on their journey to Alola together.

Verdanturf Town.

After a period of preparation, Robert finally managed to scrape together a hundred million, and he excitedly headed to the YoYo Day Care.

"You raised the money so quickly? I didn't expect you to be so financially strong!" After hearing Robert's purpose, Yuga teased with a smile.

Robert sighed, "Don't remind me. In order to gather this hundred million, I not only spent all my savings but also incurred a substantial amount of debt." He felt that he would need to enter a frenzied money-making mode for a long time to come, or he'd be left with nothing to eat.

Although an indigo potential Pokémon could fetch a hundred million, Yuga still had to pay a significant tax to the league. He was now a bona fide taxpayer.

In the breeding business, the pricier the Pokémon, the higher the related taxes, making the overall tax burden greater than in other industries.

After completing a series of procedures, Yuga received Robert's remittance, and a Larvesta was brought in by Wigglytuff to hand over to Robert.

The newly born Pokémon undergoes changes almost daily, and in just a few days of not seeing it, Robert noticed that Larvesta had grown quite a bit and was much more lively. Larvesta even remembered Robert, the person it had only met once.

Sending off Larvesta was its mother, Vivillon. Although Volcarona wanted to come, considering its large size and tendency to flail around, Vivillon didn't let it come, reasoning that they could always see each other later.

Yuga and Robert were good friends and kept in frequent contact, so Vivillon didn't feel as sad about sending off Larvesta as one might expect. If she missed it, a video call would suffice; there was no need to make it feel like a tearful parting.

After receiving Larvesta, Robert happily left the YoYo Day Care.

After seeing Robert off, Yuga stood at the shop entrance for a while. Just as he was about to turn back inside, he saw a little girl with pink hair walking toward him.

Seeing the special sportswear she was wearing, Yuga exclaimed in surprise, "Are you a trainee from the Pokémon Contest Regional Promotion Project?" For some reason, he felt that the girl looked somewhat familiar.

The girl nodded, saying, "Yes, you know about this program?"

Yuga smiled and replied, "I do; I have friends in it too."

The girl assumed that Yuga's friend was also a trainee and nodded without further questioning him on that topic.

"Are you a staff member here? I want to buy some Pokéblocks, and I wonder if you have any recommendations?"

Yuga responded, "I see. Follow me."

As Yuga led the girl into the store, he asked, "Which Pokémon are you buying for?"

The girl replied, "For a Fennekin, Aromatisse, and Vivillon."

After hearing this, Yuga took a few cans of Pokéblocks off the shelves behind him and explained, "For the fire-type Fennekin, you should give it the Crimson Crystal Pokéblocks. Its final evolution, Delphox, has a secondary psychic typing, so occasionally giving it some Fantasy Pokéblocks will help ensure a smoother evolution in the future.

"Next, for the pure fairy-type Aromatisse, it only needs the Innocent Pokéblocks.

"Finally, for Vivillon, which is primarily a bug-type with a secondary flying type, it should primarily consume the Longevity Pokéblocks, with the Soaring Pokéblocks as a supplement. If your Vivillon has a strong preference for flying types, then you should increase the intake of Soaring Pokéblocks appropriately."

Yuga carefully introduced how to pair each Pokémon with the Pokéblocks, explaining how much should be consumed at different stages… which was highly beneficial for the girl.

After listening to Yuga's explanation, the girl remarked, "I didn't realize there was so much knowledge behind pairing Pokéblocks." She had come to this store based on a recommendation and didn't expect such excellent service.

Thanks to Yuga's attentive service, the girl ended up buying several cans of the Pokéblocks she needed.

"Since I live in Kalos, what should I do if I want to buy your Pokéblocks again in the future?" the girl suddenly asked Yuga as she was about to leave.

Yuga opened his phone, pulled up the YoYo Day Care's official website, and explained to the girl, "You can buy directly from here, and we'll ship it to your home via Pidgey Express, with shipping at just nine ninety-nine."

Until the girl left, Yuga still didn't know her name.

After the girl left, Aunt Aoba came into the store to settle the accounts. She had been managing the Paradise Restaurant, but she regularly came to report to Yuga.

"Ah, that kid Arata Sena has been out and hasn't called home; I haven't heard from him for quite a while."

As Aunt Aoba settled the accounts, she complained to Yuga about Arata Sena not calling home for an extended period.

"Yeah, young people these days just don't understand. Ayashi is the same; he hasn't called home in a long time either. I'll have to talk to them properly next time," Yuga replied, sounding older than his years, completely unaware that he was nearly the same age as Arata Sena.

Aunt Aoba didn't notice anything amiss; instead, she agreed, saying, "It's about time! He never listens to me; you need to talk to him."

Time passed in this back-and-forth chatter between the two.

In the blink of an eye, three days had gone by. At the airport on Akala Island in the Alola region, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa stepped off the plane, dragging their suitcases behind them.

At the airport, a police officer from the local station was already waiting for them. Once they met, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa were led by the officer to settle in at a hotel.

Luna was an impatient person, and after they got settled, she immediately headed to the police station to understand the situation regarding their mission. Kaname Hirakawa had no choice but to drag his tired body along with her.

The local police were aware that this case was the responsibility of the two, so apart from providing necessary clues, they didn't offer much additional help.

Based on the clues provided by the police, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa successfully located the spot where the poaching gang had gone missing.