Grudges

Yuga ripped off the black cloth covering one of the cages and was utterly shocked by what he saw inside.

Inside the cage were three Pokémon: a Poliwag, a Shellder, and a Corphish.

The Poliwag had lost its tail and legs, the Shellder's once-hard shell had turned soft, and the Corphish had only one claw left.

"What on earth is going on?" Yuga turned to the two individuals on the ground.

"We...we don't know," both of them stammered in unison, shaking their heads.

"Don't know?" Yuga couldn't help but sneer. He had a hard time believing their words.

Yuga proceeded to uncover the remaining cages, and without exception, each cage contained three to four deformed Pokémon.

"I think you should explain this to Officer Jenny," Yuga said, looking at them sternly.

Upon hearing Yuga's words, the two men were terrified and quickly begged for mercy.

But Yuga paid them no heed. He let Chimecho keep an eye on them along with the cages as he drove the truck back to Verdanturf Town.

As for the two men in the cargo area, they weren't going anywhere.

Upon arriving at the police station in Verdanturf Town, Yuga reported the situation. Shortly after, Officer Jenny arrived with several subordinates.

When they saw the deformed Pokémon inside the cages, they were all left dumbfounded.

Yuga explained the situation to Officer Jenny, and the two men in the cargo area were promptly arrested.

As employees of the Truly Adorable Day Care, Truly Adorable Day Care would also face an investigation by the authorities.

However, that had nothing to do with Yuga.

After handing over the two individuals, Yuga returned to the YoYo Day Care. He set aside the task of finding Taillow and Swellow for now.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and Yuga successfully gathered the five Taillow and Swellow he needed.

At the same time, the investigation results of Truly Adorable Day Care were released.

As it turned out, the Truly Adorable Day Care's branch in Verdanturf Town had been using drugs on Pokémon and forcing them to breed to cut costs.

The excessive use of drugs had caused health problems in breeding Pokémon, resulting in numerous deformities among the offspring. Consequently, they attempted to dispose of these deformed Pokémon in the wild, believing it would go unnoticed due to the high number of wild Pokémon.

However, they didn't anticipate that Yuga would stumble upon them after only two attempts and promptly report them to the police.

The incident received extensive media coverage, with numerous television networks reporting on it. Truly Adorable Day Care faced an unprecedented crisis, and one wrong move could lead to its downfall.

Nevertheless, the owner of Truly Adorable Day Care was highly skilled in handling such situations. He shifted all responsibility onto the manager of the Verdanturf Town branch, Paulo.

Truly Adorable Day Care publicly claimed that their headquarters had no knowledge of the situation, putting all blame on Paulo for acting independently.

Furthermore, Truly Adorable Day Care headquarters voluntarily offered to undergo an investigation by the Breeder Association.

The investigation ultimately cleared Truly Adorable Day Care headquarters of any wrongdoing. However, since they had volunteered for the investigation, it was evident they had taken extensive precautions.

The truth remained unknown: whether Truly Adorable headquarters knew or was involved in the incident, no one could say. Still, the investigation results declared them innocent.

Regarding this matter, there was still widespread discussion in the outside world. Quite a number of people remained skeptical that Truly Adorable Day Care headquarters was unaware of the situation. Such attempts to shift blame and find scapegoats were not unheard of, but unfortunately, no one had concrete evidence.

Additionally, Truly Adorable Day Care's Verdanturf Town branch manager, Paulo, readily admitted to the situation, taking full responsibility without room for anyone else to intervene.

Regardless of the outcome, Truly Adorable Day Care had certainly gained a lot of notoriety, its reputation swinging wildly between positive and negative. However, it leaned more toward the latter.

On the second day of the investigation into Truly Adorable Day Care's Verdanturf Town branch, Edward hurriedly arrived in Verdanturf Town, becoming busy dealing with this matter.

This day happened to be the monthly day for YoYo Day Care to trade green-potential Pokémon. The customer had chosen a Clauncher as their Pokémon and had arrived early to spend time with it.

After completing the transaction, Yuga escorted the customer with their new Pokémon to the exit of YoYo Day Care. That's when he saw Edward approaching with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Oh, Mr. Shimizu, your business is truly flourishing!" Edward remarked.

Yuga glanced at him gently and said : "That's nothing compared to how 'hot' Truly Adorable Day Care has become lately!"

These words from Yuga twisted Edward's face in an unpleasant manner, almost making his features contort.

Yuga relished the satisfaction of seeing Edward react like this.

"Actually," Yuga continued, "when Truly Adorable Day Care first opened its branch in Verdant Town, I had all sorts of plans for a showdown with you. Little did I know that before the showdown even began, you all..."

Edward's face turned bright red, and his chest heaved violently. Yuga was worried he might run out of breath and collapse right there in front of YoYo Day Care.

"What's... what's wrong with you?" Yuga feigned innocence.

"You... You wait for me!" After struggling to find his voice, Edward spat out these words and then stormed off.

At this point, Edward harbored an intense hatred for Yuga, who had brought Truly Adorable Day Care into such dire straits.

Initially, their enmity had stemmed from minor conflicts. However, it all escalated during the television interview at YoYo Day Care.

Truly Adorable Day Care, while not a small-scale operation, lacked deep-rooted connections. Thus, Edward had been diligently trying to establish ties with more influential figures in the business.

The opportunity for an interview at Lilycove City TV was originally meant for Truly Adorable Day Care. Edward had intended to use this platform to boost their Day Care's reputation and potentially secure a major partnership.

However, unbeknownst to them, YoYo Day Care had appeared out of nowhere and ruined their plans.

Their reputation remained untarnished, but Truly Adorable's headquarters had missed a golden opportunity. Now, Edward held a deep grudge against Yuga.

As a result, Edward frequently caused trouble for YoYo Day Care, even choosing to establish a branch in Verdanturf Town with the sole purpose of antagonizing Yuga.

This included orchestrating the attack on Yuga by Hunter J.

Edward had learned about someone's desire to acquire a Florges. So, he decided to leak Yuga's possession of Florges to that individual, hoping to use them to get rid of Yuga.

Unfortunately for Edward, they didn't anticipate Yuga's still has hole card in his hand, that is the Noctowl.

Edward's plans backfired once again, and he ended up offending the person who had hired Hunter J, causing himself considerable trouble in the process.