With the arrival of spring, more and more tourists came to Verdanturf Town for sightseeing.
They found that everywhere they looked, they could see flying butterfly-like Pokémon, some were elegant Beautifly, and others were colorful Vivillon, adorning the entire Verdanturf Town with a riot of colors.
Sometimes, these beautiful butterfly-like Pokémon gathered in large numbers, dancing gracefully around Verdanturf Town, creating a colorful rainbow bridge in the sky, making it a great spectacle.
In the fields, gardens, and grasslands of Verdanturf Town, there were diligent butterfly-like Pokémon spreading pollen and collecting nectar.
It could be said that these hardworking butterfly-like Pokémon and Grass-type Pokémon were the main force supporting the prosperity and vitality of Verdanturf Town.
At the same time, in Yuga's Ecopark, the Bug-type Pokémon in the Insect Paradise Sub-Ecopark seemed to have become unusually active with the arrival of spring.
Spring was the time for Bug-type Pokémon to reproduce, and even the Bug-type Pokémon living in the Ecopark were no exception. Pairs of Bug-type Pokémon laid Pokémon eggs in their nests.
When this batch of Pokémon eggs hatched, a new group of Bug-type Pokémon, primarily composed of fast-reproducing butterfly-like Pokémon, would be added into the Insect Paradise.
As soon as the new Bug-type Pokémon hatched, Yuga would immediately send a group of butterfly-like Pokémon to Little Drew's flower cultivation base. Spring was an important season for them.
Spring was destined to be a busy season.
Yuga's Vivillon had already been at the top of the insect nest in the Insect Paradise for so many days.
These days, it has been lying still, motionless, with its eyes tightly closed, not eating or drinking, as if it has fallen into a deep slumber. Its response to the outside world is quite dull, with only its beautiful wings slowly flapping, occasionally emitting a faint, sparkling white light.
Volcarona occasionally visits the Insect Paradise to check on its wife. However, every time it sees its wife in this state, it returns to the Volcano Sub-Ecopark in a despondent manner.
The current half-awake, half-asleep state of Vivillon is not due to any mishap but a normal sign of its breakthrough.
For fragile Bug-type Pokémon like Vivillon, breaking through to the Elite level is a significant challenge that requires extensive accumulation.
For nearly a year since Yuga returned from Johto to Verdanturf Town, Vivillon has been accumulating energy in the Insect Paradise and rarely leaves the Ecopark. Every day, it absorbs a large amount of scales powder. And recently, it reached the critical point for breaking through to the Elite level.
As the Butterfly King, Vivillon automatically makes all butterfly-like Pokémon in the Insect Paradise submit to its rule. Every day, a group of butterfly-like Pokémon takes turns to offer scales powder to Vivillon.
With great respect, the butterfly-like Pokémon fly above Vivillon, forming a circle, then flap their wings to scatter shiny scales powder onto Vivillon.
Although Vivillon's perception of the outside world is weak, it is highly sensitive to the scales powder offered by the butterfly-like Pokémon. Even with its eyes closed, whenever the scales powder are showered in the air, its wings will generate a gentle breeze, carrying those scales powder towards it.
When those shimmering scales powder touch Vivillon's wings, they transform into the nourishment it needs to break through.
Vivillon's breakthrough has been in progress for more than just a few days. Yuga couldn't watch over it constantly due to his busy schedule, so he entrusted the task of caring for Vivillon to the manager of the Insect Paradise Sub-Ecopark, Vespiquen No. 1.
If you were to ask which Pokémon in the Insect Paradise could rival butterfly-like Pokémon in terms of quantity, it would undoubtedly be the Combee.
In the Insect Paradise, most of the Combee are subordinates of Vespiquen No. 1. You could say that Vespiquen No. 1's influence extends throughout the entire Insect Paradise, and no changes here can escape its watchful eyes.
Unlike Vespiquen No. 2, who only mingle with Ribombee, Vespiquen No. 1 has many male Combee as its "favorites." These male Combee ensure the rapid reproduction of the Combee population, so their reproductive rate is much faster than that of Vespiquen No. 2.
These "favorites" of Vespiquen No. 1 are not her offspring but her brothers.
Vespiquen No. 2 initially founded her new colony independently. However, Vespiquen No. 1 directly seized her mother's position and replaced her.
After ascending to the position of the new queen, the children of the old queen, including Vespiquen No. 2's brothers, become her harem, which is common practice in the Combee community.
If it weren't for Latias's Draco Meteor that killed many Combee in the past, Vespiquen No. 1's harem would have been even larger.
In comparison, Vespiquen No. 2, who exclusively favors Ribombee, is an exception in the Combee community, as focusing on a single Pokémon results in a stagnant population.
Fortunately, Vespiquen No. 2 now lives in the peaceful Ecopark, if it was placed in the wild, her small colony would have disappeared long ago.
The mortality rate of fragile Combee is quite high. Leaving aside natural predators, even strong winds and heavy rains can lead to the death of many Combee who go out to collect nectar.
Wild Combee sometimes disappear while collecting nectar.
Without environmental constraints, the Combee population multiplies rapidly, even with just Vespiquen No. 1 giving birth. They feed on pollen, and there's an abundance of pollen in Yuga's Ecopark.
Breeding with no costs and producing a delicious and nutritious Combee Sweet Honey continuously, Yuga never limits the reproduction of Combee.
With Combee being in abundance in Yuga's Ecopark, all the Pokémon in the Ecopark can enjoy the nutritious sweet honey. The surplus honey is sold to the outside world.
One day, Vespiquen No. 1 was resting deep inside the hive, suddenly sensing a powerful aura rising from outside, right from the top of the hive. She hurriedly flapped her wings and flew out of the hive.
There's no need to say; it was definitely due to Vivillon's breakthrough.
Not only did Vespiquen No. 1 sense the disturbance caused by Vivillon, but other Bug-type Pokémon in the Insect Paradise also suddenly felt the imposing presence.
Vivillon had absorbed the fossil of the Legendary Pokémon Genesect, but this fossil wasn't entirely absorbed. A significant amount of energy remained hidden within Vivillon's body.
At this moment, as it broke through to the Elite level, the Genesect fossil within Vivillon's body suddenly emitted an aura unique to Bug-type Legendary Pokémon. Even Vespiquen No. 1 found it somewhat hard to breathe.
Suddenly, the pair of wings on Vivillon, which had been half-asleep, started emitting a brilliant white light, as if wrapping Vivillon in a dreamy veil.
Vivillon slowly folded its wings until they enveloped its entire body, turning it into a cocoon of light.
This cocoon was pure white, resembling a beautiful pearl. However, this pristine appearance didn't last for long. Soon, it took on a deep purple hue.
This deep purple hue originated from the Legendary Pokémon Genesect.
In this moment, all the butterfly-like Pokémon in the hive began to stir. They flew up to the sky, gathering around the top of the hive, forming a dense cluster around Vivillon.
After a while, the cocoon suddenly released a shockwave that sent all the butterfly-like Pokémon, gathered around it, tumbling.
Immediately afterward, the cocoon burst open, and Vivillon reappeared above the hive.
The moment Vivillon reappeared, all the butterfly-like Pokémon landed on the ground, spreading their wings flat, showing their respect to their new leader.
Vivillon gently fluttered its wings, and then it slowly flew into the air. Although its appearance hadn't changed, all the Bug-type Pokémon in the vicinity felt an indescribable aura emanating from it.
It was the aura of a leader!
"Vivillon..."
Vivillon let out a long cry with its wings, and all the butterfly-like Pokémon slowly dispersed, as if nothing had happened, continuing with their respective tasks. Those who needed to collect nectar went to collect nectar, and those seeking mates went to find mates.
At this moment, Yuga was at the Gym, assessing the training progress of the four youngsters: Anmu, Anrin, Ayagiri, and Ayano.
Seeing that the two older ones among the four are about to turn ten, Yuga has been quite concerned about their training lately. He wants them to be safer when they travel outside.
All four of them began their journey with Eevee as their initial Pokémon. Except for Ayagiris Eevee, who unexpectedly evolved into a Espeon, the other three chose to evolve into Leafeon.
According to the three youngsters, they are all from Verdanturf Gym. As it's a Grass-type Gym, they aspire to become Grass-type trainers.
Arata Sena and Akihito haven't mentioned wanting to become Grass-type trainers, so for now, it seems that only Anmu, Anrin, and Ayano have a clear interest in that path.
They might have been influenced by Yuga's frequent battles using Grass-type Pokémon at the gym.
However, they are still young, and their future paths are uncertain.
Yuga skillfully managed to handle three Leafeon and one Espeon with his Dartrix and Snover.
Dartrix, with its Long Reach ability, is an excellent marksman. It keeps opponents at bay by continuously firing off Razor Leaf, creating chaos for the opposing Pokémon.
Snover, while not in its final form, handles both ranged and close combat situations with ease due to its mutations. Its Ice-type attributes also give it an advantage against Grass-type Pokémon, so even fully evolved Leafeon can't pose a real challenge.
After the battle, Yuga praised the kids and then saw Vivillon flying into the Gym.
"Vivillon, you're awake!"
Due to its semi-sleep state, Yuga hadn't spoken to Vivillon for several days. So seeing it wake up now was a joyful moment.
...
[ Vivillon ]
Type: Bug/Flying
Gender: Female
Ability: Compound Eyes, Shield Dust
Potential: Purple
Level: 76
Moves: Protect, Stun Spore, Gust, Psybeam, Electroweb, Safeguard, Bug Buzz, Quiver Dance, Hurricane, Light Screen, Hyper Voice, Sleep Powder, Psychic, Powder, Rage Powder, Aerial Ace, Roost, Solar Beam, Endeavor, Infestation
...
Yuga didn't expect Vivillon's breakthrough this time to leap directly from the Elite level Junior stage to the Intermediate stage. It made all the time spent in the hive worthwhile.
However, the most significant contributor to this leap was likely the Genesect fossil that Vivillon absorbed.
"Congratulations, Vivillon! Your strength has greatly improved!" Yuga happily congratulated Vivillon.
Upon hearing Yuga's praise, Vivillon joyfully spun in the air.
"By the way, have you seen Volcarona lately? It has been quite worried about you during this time."
Yuga suddenly remembered the worried Volcarona, who had been neglecting food and rest recently. He reminded Vivillon as he smiled.
Vivillon: ...Fuck! I'm Forgot about my husband!
After calling out to Yuga with a joyful chirp, Vivillon fluttered out of the gym, eager to meet Volcarona.
Watching Vivillon fly away, Yuga chuckled and shook his head, thinking: My little girl has grown up!
Among Yuga's main Pokémon, only Vivillon currently has a partner. He doesn't want her to change her mind casually.
In reality, they've all grown up and are at an age where they can start dating, but nothing has happened yet.
Dad Yuga doesn't oppose them to finding love.
News of Vivillon's significant power boost quickly spread among Yuga's main Pokémon, leaving Chimecho quite unhappy lately.
The once Flower Sea Sisters - Florges, Vivillon, and Chimecho.
Now, Chimecho was the weakest. Although she's also an Elite level, she's only in the Junior stage, making her feel less favored by Yuga.
Eventually, for reasons unknown, Chimecho reached out to Deoxys, who had been wandering around the Hoenn Region (traveling), indicating her desire to go on a journey with Deoxys to practice.
Deoxys and Chimecho have the ability to communicate as long as they are on the same region.
When Yuga first learned about Chimecho's plans, he was quite surprised, especially when Deoxys came to Verdanturf Town unexpectedly. Chimecho had acted first and asked later. However, what could Yuga do? He welcomed Chimecho's ambitious drive for growth and agreed to it.
Before leaving, Chimecho made a heartfelt promise: I will definitely become Yuga's most outstanding child!
On the day Chimecho left Verdanturf Town, in the faraway Kanto region, a new aspiring Pokémon Trainer embarked on a journey with his Pikachu.
This Pikachu had a somewhat unfriendly temperament, and its initial relationship with the new Trainer was quiet bad. While traveling to Saffron City, the inexperienced Trainer unknowingly provoked a flock of Spearow, leading to a relentless pursuit.
Spearow and their evolved form, Fearow, were known for their vengeful nature, always seeking retribution. Consequently, the pursuing Spearow continued relentlessly, eventually injuring Pikachu.
To evade the relentless Spearow, the inexperienced Trainer jumped into a river with the injured Pikachu, where they were saved by a girl who was fishing by the river.
This chance meeting between the young boy and the girl set the wheels of fate into motion.
The boy borrowed the girl's bicycle and intended to take Pikachu to the Saffron City Pokémon Center. However, the vengeful Spearow were unwilling to let the boy and Pikachu escape.
In the struggle against the Spearow, the new Trainer and Pikachu developed a heart to heart connection, and after that the boy's journey officially began.