Establish a Platform for Stray Pokémon Work

Yuga had initially been puzzled about how to use the Dragon Ball, but as soon as Dragonite spotted it, its eyes lit up, and it immediately swallowed it whole.

"Anything produced by the system is guaranteed to be top quality," Yuga thought.

Almost as soon as Dragonite swallowed the Dragon Ball, it began to take effect. A faint blue-purple glow enveloped Dragonite, and its body instantly seemed lighter, with its energy visibly restored.

"How are you feeling, Dragonite? Any better?" Yuga asked anxiously.

"Dragonite!"

Dragonite jumped off the bed and hugged Yuga, rubbing its chin against the top of Yuga's head, showing Yuga just how much better it felt.

After a brief moment of affection, Dragonite clenched its claws, a sharp gleam flickering from them. It wanted to test if it could now use its moves smoothly. Unfortunately, there was little improvement. Although Dragonite's physical discomfort had eased, its Flying-type energy remained unbalanced, causing its move execution to still feel clumsy.

This realization made Dragonite's previously cheerful expression droop in disappointment.

Seeing this, Yuga patted it and reassured, "Don't worry. I'll help you find a solution."

After obtaining Joyka's permission, Yuga took Dragonite out of the Pokémon Center.

Back at home, Yuga actively started asking around for any Flying-type treasures that might help Dragonite. Initially, he thought it would take a long time to find something, as items of this caliber were rare. However, the very next day, when he routinely checked the system's store, a striking purple frame appeared.

Inside the purple frame was a blue-white feather, emitting a faint silver glow that radiated a sense of purity.

[ Sky Feather ]

[ Description: a holy relic for Flying-types Pokémon, excellent for enhancing their energy. ]

The item description was just as simple as it had been for the Dragon Ball—and even the price was exactly the same.

Seeing this fortuitous offering from the system, Yuga didn't hesitate anymore and purchased it immediately.

The Sky Feather was about as long as an adult's forearm and felt almost weightless. Yuga could clearly sense the delicate energy pulsating from it.

Even being near it created a gentle breeze, especially refreshing in the summer heat, making the effect even more noticeable and pleasantly cool.

Since Dragonite still couldn't fully use its moves, it had gone to take a long nap in the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark upon returning home. Yuga brought the Sky Feather to find Dragonite, who was chatting with its mother.

Yuga rode into Dragonite's cave on the back of an Altaria while holding up the feather. "Dragonite, look what I brought you!"

Seeing the Sky Feather in Yuga's hand, Dragonite immediately understood and rushed over.

As soon as Yuga handed the feather to Dragonite, it seemed to dissolve gently into its body—a truly magical sight.

The moment the Sky Feather was absorbed, Dragonite felt all the heaviness vanish, finally experiencing the true relief and exhilaration of breaking through to Champion level.

"Dragoooon!"

Dragonite let out a triumphant roar, causing echoes to reverberate throughout the cave. Yuga had to cover his ears to block the noise.

Just then, Dragonite's mother leisurely came out to witness the scene. She smiled broadly, her worries for Dragonite finally at ease.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Electricity crackled from Dragonite's fists as it pounded them together, making loud booming sounds. Noticing its mother's arrival, Dragonite spoke a few excited words to her, and she nodded in approval. They then dashed out of the cave together.

It turned out Dragonite had just issued a playful challenge to its mother!

Having resolved its physical issues, Dragonite was eager to release its pent-up energy.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, Yuga watched as Dragonite and its mother engaged in an intense sparring match outside.

Dragonite was skilled in Electric-type moves, while its mother excelled in Ice-type moves. Their clash created an impressive visual spectacle, as golden electricity and icy blue-white energy interwove in their combat from a distance.

However, Dragonite's mother was a Master-level Pokémon, while Dragonite had only just reached the Champion level, so it was no match for her. To save her son's pride, Dragonite's mother held back, which left Dragonite feeling a bit unfulfilled in the fight.

Resigned, Dragonite gave up sparring with its mother and instead went to challenge Lapras.

Yuga wasn't entirely sure how things turned out between Dragonite and Lapras, as he had to leave the Ecopark after receiving a call from Mayor Ishida to discuss the prize distribution for the Grass-type Pokémon Duel Tournament.

This tournament in Verdanturf Town differed from the major tournaments held by the League.

League tournaments, akin to the Olympics in Yuga's past life, were prestigious events officially organized. Earning a high rank in such tournaments was itself an honor and held considerable prestige. Even if there were no other rewards, a good placement would bring a trainer numerous benefits.

However, the Grass-type Pokémon Duel Tournament was being organized solely by the Verdanturf Town, with limited benefits for trainers. Therefore, to attract a large number of participants, substantial rewards were essential.

When Yuga arrived at the town hall, quite a few people were already present, including Mayor Ishida and representatives from the tournament's sponsors.

Since the sponsors were funding the prizes, they also had a say in deciding them.

After a heated debate, the tournament rewards were finally decided.

[ First Prize: A Grass-type Pokémon with blue potential, 50 Grass Gems, and a year's supply of Vitality Pokeblock (enough for one Pokémon). ]

The Grass-type Pokémon and Vitality Pokeblock were sponsored by YoYo Day Care, while the Grass Gems were provided by Devon Corporation.

[ Second Prize: A Treecko with green potential, five Sun Stones, five Leaf Stones, and six months' supply of Vitality Pokeblock (enough for one Pokémon). ]

The Treecko was a gift from the Hoenn League in support of Verdanturf Town's event, while the Sun Stones and Leaf Stones came from two other sponsors. The Vitality Pokeblock, once again, were provided by YoYo Day Care.

[ Third Prize: 20 Grass Gems, one Sun Stone, one Leaf Stone, and a set of specialized Poké Balls. ]

These prizes were donated by other sponsors.

[ Fourth to Tenth Prizes: A six-month supply of Rose Incense (enough for one Pokémon). ]

The Rose Incense was also provided by YoYo Day Care.

YoYo Day Care clearly contributed the most in terms of rewards, but Yuga didn't mind, as the other sponsors took care of various logistical aspects.

Expenses included venue repairs and maintenance, equipment purchases and upkeep, and fees for the referees—all of which required a substantial budget. Compared to these costs, the expenses for the prizes were minor.

Hosting a large-scale event drained funds as quickly as water flows, and Yuga hadn't realized how costly it would be until he got involved in the planning.

Over ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and Mayor Ishida was still busy managing the tournament preparations.

Today, an incident occurred at the venue construction site, and Mayor Ishida urgently called Yuga to the location.

Since the original Contest Hall was being transformed into a multifunctional venue, it had now been officially renamed the Verdanturf Town Gymnasium.

Mayor Ishida had gone back and forth with the Contest Hall officials for quite a while over this matter. The officials were initially unwilling to convert their exclusive venue into a multipurpose gymnasium.

However, the Verdanturf Contest Hall only hosts major contests every so often, leaving the venue unused for long stretches. Mayor Ishida had always thought this was a huge waste. Even when it was left empty, maintaining such a large venue cost a significant amount of money.

In the end, Yuga personally intervened and negotiated with Wallace, which finally led the Contest Hall officials to agree.

Today, Mayor Ishida called Yuga to the construction site of the gymnasium because the project was being hindered by a group of wild Fearow, Zubat, Murkrow, and Taillow.

Some parts of the Contest Hall venue had been vacant for so long that wild Flying-type Pokémon had taken up residence on the rooftops.

The Verdanturf Contest Hall was a large venue, even capable of hosting the prestigious Wallace Cup, and had been funded by Devon Corporation. However, most of the events Verdanturf Town hosted were smaller-scale, so many sections of the venue were rarely used.

In the past, before Verdanturf Town developed, there were many abandoned factories and buildings in the town, which served as shelters for the city's stray Pokémon.

As Verdanturf Town expanded and redeveloped, these abandoned factories and buildings were gradually torn down, leaving many Pokémon homeless.

Luckily, Verdanturf Town had Yuga's Pokémon Paradise, where most stray Pokémon could live comfortably, though this mainly applied to land-dwelling Pokémon and did not include Flying-types.

Flying-type Pokémon were more elusive and difficult to track, so it wasn't easy to bring them to Yuga's Pokémon Paradise.

Additionally, as Verdanturf Town prospered, stray Pokémon from nearby towns and wild Pokémon struggling to survive in the wilderness began to gather here.

Life opportunities are always a bit more plentiful in larger towns.

As a result, the number of Flying-type Pokémon hidden around Verdanturf Town had grown beyond expectations.

A large number of these Flying-type Pokémon had quietly made the gymnasium their home, coexisting peacefully despite their different species, united by their need to survive.

Now, with the gymnasium's reconstruction, these Pokémon felt as though they were being displaced once more, prompting them to collectively attack the construction workers.

When Yuga arrived, officers from Verdanturf Town's police department were trying to hold back the attacking Flying Pokémon, assisted by patrol Pokémon from YoYo Day Care.

Mayor Ishida had called Yuga over to figure out how to handle the situation.

Flying Pokémon swarmed everywhere, so the non-trainer Mayor Ishida had to hide with his secretary in a corner, afraid to step forward. When he saw Yuga arrive, he called out with a distressed expression, "Thank goodness you're here, I was nearly scared out of my wits!"

Seeing that the police officers were managing to keep things under control, Yuga didn't immediately step in. Instead, he pulled Mayor Ishida aside to discuss a way to calm these stray Pokémon.

Stray Pokémon had always been part of Verdanturf Town's growth, so Yuga and Mayor Ishida had no intention of abandoning them now.

After some discussion, Yuga took the lead in negotiating with the group of Flying-type stray Pokémon.

The troublemakers were led by a Zubat, a Murkrow, and a Taillow, Pokémon from the lowest rung of society with low potential and strength; their only advantage lay in their numbers.

Many of the Flying Pokémon causing the disturbance didn't actually reside in the gymnasium but were recruited by Zubat, Murkrow, and Taillow to bolster their ranks. Otherwise, there would never have been so many Pokémon involved in the ruckus.

The first thing Yuga did was send Vivillon to locate the three ringleaders, subduing them in one swift move. With "hostages" in hand, the stray Pokémon finally calmed down enough to listen to negotiations.

Yuga's solution was simple: since the construction had displaced them from their home, he would provide them with a new one.

These Pokémon, due to their low potential, rarely trained and could only stay in their first evolution stage throughout their lives, making them all small in size. Therefore, finding accommodations for them wouldn't be difficult.

Verdanturf Town had recently completed a new park, and after consulting with Mayor Ishida, Yuga suggested building some simple wooden houses in the park's trees to serve as dwellings for the Flying Pokémon. It would be a perfect fit.

Moreover, they didn't need to hire anyone special to build these small houses. By encouraging students from the Trainer School to do a volunteer labor project, the children could complete the work themselves.

In addition, Yuga made another suggestion to Mayor Ishida: that the town government set up a work platform specifically for these stray Pokémon.

Flying Pokémon could perform many tasks; the simplest would be running errands for residents, or perhaps even delivering food orders...

After all, who could be better suited for food delivery than Flying Pokémon?

The platform didn't need to be large; it would only serve the Flying Pokémon and offer straightforward tasks. The staff to manage the platform could be recruited from Forest House Orphanage.

The town government would pay the staff's wages, while the Flying Pokémon would earn their wages in the form of food they could buy with the money they made.

This plan would solve both the issue of survival for the Flying Pokémon and address the lack of management for stray Pokémon in the town.

In order to facilitate communication between the platform's staff and the Flying Pokémon, Yuga generously assigned his Chatot, who could speak human language, to assist. Chatot was usually idle anyway, and this job would allow it to earn some extra income to help cover household expenses.

With so many benefits on the table, the negotiations went smoothly. Not only did the stray Flying Pokémon in the gymnasium agree to Yuga's plan, but those living in other areas also joined in.

Yuga laid out a comprehensive solution, appeased numerous Flying Pokémon, and naturally left the platform's setup to Mayor Ishida.

Mayor Ishida, a man of swift action, quickly established the platform under his direction. Yuga even brought in an instructor from Pidgey Express to train the platform's staff in managing large numbers of Flying Pokémon.

Yuga had some connections with Hayate, the young owner of Pidgey Express, and Hayate was willing to extend this small favor, as it didn't involve any secrets of Pidgey Express.

A week later, Yuga received his first delivery brought by one of the Flying Pokémon. The delivery Pokémon was a Taillow, now radiating health and energy, looking much better than the frail creature it had once been. With a new home and income, it was now thriving.