Life in the Ecopark

After Suzuha handed the items to Yuga, she didn't stay long at YoYo Day Care.

Once Suzuha left, Yuga promptly sent the twenty Chespin to the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark, then gave the Luxray a Max Revive to consume.

Yuga always kept Max Revives on hand, and after Luxray ate it, its injuries were immediately healed without a trace of the severe wounds remaining.

However, to fully gain Luxray's loyalty, Yuga still had to battle it.

Though Luxray was an Elite-level Pokémon, it wasn't much of a challenge for Yuga. After being thoroughly beaten by Torterra, Luxray completely submitted to him.

With Luxray's capture, Yuga successfully made his first step toward completing a side quest, which made him very happy.

Like most land Pokémon, Yuga placed Luxray in the Grassland Sub-Ecopark. However, Luxray was a solitary Pokémon. After settling in the Grassland Sub-Ecopark, it refused to interact with any other Pokémon, choosing to live alone in a secluded spot.

During this time, Persian had approached Luxray, but despite both having "cat" in their names, Luxray, being a lion-like Pokémon, didn't appreciate the connection. Although lions belong to the feline family, Luxray, with its slightly prideful nature, paid no attention to Persian, leaving the latter dejected.

However, Persian knew its limits and, unable to win in a fight against Luxray, held no grudge over Luxray's cold attitude.

Luxray didn't completely ignore everyone though. It did engage in an exchange of electrical energy with the four Ampharos living in the Grassland Sub-Ecopark.

This wasn't surprising, as Electric-type Pokémon generally tend to live in groups. They often need to swap the electricity stored in their bodies with others to maintain the "activity" of their internal currents.

Active currents are essential for Electric-type Pokémon, as they help prevent damage to the organs that store electricity and can also aid in enhancing their strength to some degree.

If an Electric-type Pokémon doesn't have companions, it has to release the stored electricity at regular intervals and then absorb new currents. This process causes a lot of energy waste and is far less efficient than exchanging electricity with others.

Not all Electric-type Pokémon can generate their own electricity. Some, like Magnemite, rely on external sources, which is why people often see Magnemite gathering during thunderstorms or near power plants.

Thus, exchanging electricity with others is much more convenient and cost-effective than absorbing it from the environment.

Although Luxray engaged in an energy exchange with the Ampharos, it didn't consider them friends. It merely saw them as temporary power sources—using them when necessary and ignoring them otherwise.

The Ampharos, being gentle-natured, likely wouldn't mind Luxray's attitude even if they knew its true intentions. After all, mutual assistance (or mutual use) is just a natural part of their interaction.

As the newest resident of the Ecopark, Luxray quickly caught the attention of Lucario, a Pokémon always eager for a challenge. Lucario directly issued a challenge to Luxray.

Initially, Luxray didn't want to bother with Lucario, but after thinking it over, decided to teach it a lesson to stop it from coming back too often.

As a result, Lucario got thoroughly "taught a lesson," which made Zoroark, who admired Lucario, feel heartbroken.

Unfortunately, Luxray underestimated Lucario's stubbornness. The more brutally Lucario lost, the more determined it became to win. Once Lucario's competitive spirit was ignited, not only did Luxray fail to achieve its goal, but it also ended up being constantly pestered.

From then on, Lucario challenged Luxray again and again, showing no signs of giving up until it finally won at least once. Since Luxray was an Elite-level Pokémon, it wasn't easy for Lucario to secure a victory.

However, Luxray's behavior inadvertently assisted Zoroark in her pursuit of Lucario.

Although she fell in love with Lucario at first sight, her pursuit of him had not gone smoothly. The root of the problem lay in Lucario being too "dense," unable to understand Zoroark's affectionate gestures.

Zoroark's older sister, Liepard, was not pleased with her younger sister's "chasing" behavior, but since her sister enjoyed it, there was little she could do.

Fortunately, her persistence was pays off, and Zoroark's efforts were not in vain.

Each time Lucario was injured by Luxray, Zoroark would tenderly care for him. Thanks to her repeated acts of concern, Lucario eventually fell in love with her.

While Zoroark's romance blossomed, her older sister, Liepard, found herself in a dilemma.

In a twist of fate, Liepard, who had once looked down on her sister's "chasing," found herself captivated by Luxray, seemingly following the same path as her younger sister.

When Luxray first arrived at the Ecopark and coldly rejected Persian, Liepard found it incredibly cool. She was deeply attracted to Luxray from that moment.

Compared to Lucario, Luxray's appearance was much more to Liepard's taste. She had a preference for mature, "uncle-like" Pokémon.

Though Liepard and Persian were good friends, she believed that love and friendship were separate matters.

In the Pokémon world, the Liepard species was generally considered very attractive, as their appearance matched the aesthetic preferences of many other Pokémon.

Words like "sexy" and "alluring" were often associated with Liepard, regardless of gender. Because of this, Liepard was always confident in her beauty and believed that winning over Luxray wouldn't be a problem.

But she miscalculated. Despite making several attempts to approach Luxray, she never even got a glance from him.

Liepard was a rational Pokémon and understood the concept of cutting losses. Reflecting on her younger sister's pursuit of Lucario, Liepard decided not to follow that path herself. After all, there were plenty of other four-legged Pokémon in the world.

Still, even though she decided to give up on Luxray, her heart would race every time she saw him by chance. And so, she continued to wrestle with her feelings, unable to come to any conclusion even after Zoroark's romance had already blossomed.

Leaving the love lives of the adult Pokémon aside, Sneasel had been feeling particularly troubled lately.

To counter Persian's small gang, Sneasel gathered a group of talented young friends around itself.

But because they were young, they constantly caused trouble. Sneasel, being the oldest, had practically become their caretaker. One day, it was Lillipup having a fight with his older brother and running away from home; the next day, Fennekin and Cyndaquil teamed up to steal Growlithe's food...

And today, Dratini was causing trouble.

Dratini had a conflict with Jangmo-o, and the cause? A dragon scale.

After the system update, Yuga never stopped refreshing the Trainer Store every day. Although most of the time, it pulled up useless materials, recently, it managed to draw a rare blue item—a Dragon Scale.

This Dragon Scale wasn't an ordinary one; it was a single "inverse scale" from a Dragon-type Pokémon, specially refined by the system, making it a blue item with great benefits for Dragon-types.

Since Dragonite's mom had already given the inverse scale inherited from Dragonite's dad to Dragonite, Yuga decided to give this new inverse scale to Dratini.

Partly because the scale seemed to have come from a Dragonite and would suit Dratini, and partly because Dratini had no relatives in the Ecopark, Yuga wanted to take extra care of it.

Dratini was overjoyed to receive the inverse scale and cherished it deeply, even sleeping with the scale pressed against its body.

Today, the group of young friends went to the Dragon Den sub-Ecopark to invite Dratini for training. Unable to resist, Dratini showed off the inverse scale Yuga had given it. Coincidentally, Jangmo-o overheard.

Jangmo-o was furious. Why did Yuga give Dratini a Dragon Scale but not him?

Having trained with Yuga after it was born, Jangmo-o believed it had a closer relationship with Yuga than Dratini. Overcome with jealousy, it not only snatched the scale from Dratini but also beat it up.

Jangmo-o was older than Dratini and, influenced by the Radiant Stone in the womb, was transitioning into a Totem Pokémon. Dratini had no chance of winning.

Actually, Jangmo-o regretted its actions right after hitting Dratini because its parents had taught it never to bully the weak. But since the deed was done, regret wouldn't help. Besides, it couldn't bear to return the Dragon Scale.

Seeing Dratini get beaten, its friends weren't about to stand by. They immediately demanded justice for Dratini. These young Pokémon were at the age where loyalty meant everything, especially Lillipup, who had a strong sense of justice. Without a word, it pounced on Jangmo-o.

But Jangmo-o had been specially trained by Yuga, and its strength was in a completely different league. Its power was immense, and Lillipup, Fennekin, and Cyndaquil were all knocked down quickly.

The only one who could last a bit longer against Jangmo-o was Bunnelby.

Over the past few months, Bunnelby had followed Sneasel around, learning from various masters and improving its strength significantly. Plus, Bunnelby was a Shiny Pokémon, naturally gifted in strength, which allowed it to endure against Jangmo-o for a little while longer.

However, Jangmo-o was still a pseudo-legendary Pokémon. Not only was it older than Bunnelby, but it also had the advantage of being supported by all the resources Yuga had provided. There was no way Bunnelby could beat it!

Sneasel had been waiting outside the Dragon Den sub-Ecopark for its underlings to gather, and after waiting a long time with no sign of them, it went in to find them. That's when it saw the scene of its underlings lying defeated on the ground.

To be honest, Sneasel was feeling pretty exasperated at the time! Lately, its little crew was getting into more and more trouble!

But seeing its underlings beaten, Sneasel couldn't just stand by.

Looking at the arrogant Jangmo-o, Sneasel waved its claws and decided to teach it what it means to face a "dragon slayer"! Sneasel wasn't the type to favor the right side over its family. Right or wrong didn't matter—no one bullied its underlings! After all, Sneasel was counting on this gang to back it up in the future!

Sneasel was the least talented among its group of friends, but being older gave it a slight edge in strength over them.

Moreover, Sneasel was hard-working. After months of intense training, its power had completely transformed from when it first entered the Ecopark. Combined with the type advantage, it now had the confidence to face Jangmo-o.

With a swift movement, Sneasel dashed in front of Jangmo-o and swung its fist at it.

Recently, Sneasel had learned Ice Punch from Greninja, and it was eager to test the move in real combat.

Boom!

Jangmo-o was sent flying with a single punch.

Jangmo-o hadn't expected Sneasel's sudden appearance, and with Sneasel's speed being among the best of its peers, Jangmo-o had no time to react.

At first, Jangmo-o still felt some guilt for beating up Dratini and the others, but after being knocked down by Sneasel's punch, all that guilt vanished. It got back up, angrily chattering as it charged at Sneasel with Iron Head. But Sneasel swiftly dodged, leaving Jangmo-o attacking empty air—its speed was simply outclassed.

Boom!

Sneasel appeared in front of Jangmo-o again and delivered another Ice Punch. Jangmo-o's eyes rolled back, and it fainted. Being a Dragon-type, Jangmo-o simply couldn't withstand two Ice Punches from Sneasel.

Seeing how easily Sneasel knocked out Jangmo-o, Dratini swam over with a look of admiration, thinking that Sneasel was its hero.

"Sneasel, Sneasel, Sneasel?"

You better listen to me from now on, understand?

Sneasel said seriously.

Dratini's potential was far greater than Sneasel's, and it was only a matter of time before its strength surpassed Sneasel's. To ensure Dratini would continue to follow its lead in the future, Sneasel never missed a chance to raise its favorability in Dratini's eyes.

"Dratini, Dratini!"

Dratini nodded its head eagerly.

The other young Pokémon looked at Sneasel gratefully, except for the clever Fennekin, who seemed to see through Sneasel's intentions. Still, Fennekin showed the same grateful expression and spoke words of praise just like the others.

Fennekin had joined Sneasel's group simply because it found it entertaining.

By the time Jangmo-o woke up, Sneasel and the group had long since disappeared. Saddened, Jangmo-o went home to cry to its parents, but instead of standing up for it, they gave it a good scolding for bullying the weak.

Yuga remained unaware of the little scuffle between Dratini and Jangmo-o. Even if he knew, he likely wouldn't intervene. At that moment, he was happily visiting two Mr. Mime in the main Ecopark.

Just earlier, the female Mr. Mime had successfully given birth to a healthy Pokémon egg, and luckily, the egg has green potential.

Perhaps due to the trauma of their past, the Mr. Mime couple had always kept a low profile in the Ecopark, avoiding socializing with others and rarely opening up.

Among all the Pokémon Yuga had brought back from Motoharu, the Mr. Mime couple had the most serious psychological issues.

However, they were diligent and quietly helped Miltank and Blissey handle some of the chores around the Ecopark. Sometimes, they even helped Audino and Wigglytuff with household tasks.

Since the female Mr. Mime became pregnant, though, the couple's smiles had noticeably increased. They seemed genuinely excited about the upcoming arrival of their child.

Watching the female Mr. Mime lovingly stroke the newly laid egg, Yuga sincerely hoped that the birth of this child would bring positive changes to their lives.