Transfer And Assessment Task

After Breloom broke through to the Elite level, Yuga's days became increasingly relaxed.

Apart from dealing with challengers at the gym, he spent his time leisurely strolling around town with his Pokémon.

Since realizing that he sometimes subconsciously neglected his Pokémon, Yuga started paying attention to this issue.

With an increasing number of main Pokémon, Yuga knew he couldn't give equal attention to all of them, but he tried to avoid favoritism.

As a result, he made it a daily routine to take his Pokémon out for a walk.

Of course, Chimecho had the biggest issue with Yuga's routine of taking one partner out for a walk each day.

Regardless of whose turn it was to accompany Yuga, Chimecho would secretly follow them.

Especially on the first day Yuga took Roserade out, Chimecho nearly threw a tantrum to join them.

Logically, since Chimecho was small and could fly, taking it along every day wouldn't be an inconvenience.

However, to be fair, Yuga firmly refused its request.

Breloom, the good-natured Pokémon, even suggested giving up its turn for Chimecho, which made Yuga quite angry.

He felt like he had spoiled it too much!

Despite being refused, Chimecho was not discouraged.

Being a Psychic-type and an Elite-level Pokémon, it wasn't hard for it to secretly follow Yuga without being noticed.

However, the problem was that Chimecho was too greedy.

It wasn't satisfied with just following Yuga from a distance; it wanted to stay as close to him as possible.

Due to his special Ghost-type abilities, Yuga was very sensitive to presence.

As soon as Chimecho got close, Yuga would notice it.

Unable to follow Yuga closely, Chimecho eventually found it boring and gave up its stalker behavior.

The residents of Verdanturf Town gradually noticed this habit of their Gym Leader.

It only took a few days for them to go from being surprised to seeing it as normal.

Seeing Yuga accompanied by Breloom today, Sawsbuck tomorrow, and Serperior the day after, everyone naturally greeted Yuga and his Pokémon. 

Sometimes, when Yuga had something to do and couldn't appear on the streets, people would stop Audino, who was out shopping for groceries, to ask questions.

Recently, as Yuga's fame grew, the neighbors occasionally worried that he might become difficult to get along with.

But seeing Yuga strolling around town regularly over the past few days, everyone felt relieved.

Little Yuga was still the same as before.

However, two things happened recently—one that made Yuga very happy and another that made him a little bit melancholy.

The happy event was that MeiMei, YuanYuan, QiuQiu, TuanTuan, AiAi, and PangPang, the six Chansey had successfully evolved into Blissey.

Yuga was also among the first ones to taste the food made by Audino using their eggs.

As expected, Blissey's eggs were much tastier than Chansey's eggs.

No wonder Nurse Joy had always been reluctant to treat him to a meal.

However, Blissey's egg production was low, so Yuga only had a chance to eat it once in the past few days, and he still craved more.

Once the other Chansey evolved, he could eat to his heart's content.

Chansey evolving into Blissey required a high level of Friendship, but it was clear that the Friendships that led to MeiMei and the others evolving weren't primarily with Yuga.

Although he had a good relationship with them, it wasn't enough to cause their evolution.

Since the Crobat in the Ecopark "mysteriously" evolved from Golbat, Yuga understood that the Friendships that were needed for evolution didn't have to be with humans.

Friendship between Pokémon could also trigger evolution.

MeiMei and the others had been in the Ecopark for a long time and interacting daily with the other Pokémon.

It was only natural that their friendship with some Pokémon reached the level that was needed for evolution.

However, people are inherently greedy.

When Yuga didn't have any Chansey, he longed to taste their eggs.

Now that he had quite a few, he started craving Blissey's eggs.

The thing that made Yuga somewhat depressed was that Officer Liliana was being transferred out of Verdanturf Town.

Since Officer Liliana started her tenure in Verdanturf Town, she has gained considerable credit by following Yuga's lead and taking advantage of numerous opportunities.

Coupled with her own abilities, she became increasingly valued within the Jenny family.

Now, having accumulated enough achievements, she was being transferred back to the Jenny family headquarters for a significant role, and it was unlikely that she would return to Verdanturf Town.

During his years as the Gym Leader in Verdanturf Town, Yuga had developed a good rapport with Officer Liliana and Mayor Ishida.

Their teamwork was smooth and effective, making Liliana's sudden transfer hard for Yuga to accept.

However, despite his reluctance, Yuga knew that this transfer was a good thing for Liliana, aligning with her long-held aspirations and goals.

As the current chief of the Verdanturf Town Police Department, Liliana's departure meant a new chief would be appointed.

Yuga wasn't sure if the new chief would be as cooperative as Liliana.

It seemed unlikely that the League would promote someone from the current police force in Verdanturf Town, as none of them had sufficient seniority.

An external transfer seemed more probable.

Indeed, it wasn't long before Yuga met the new police chief.

Two members of the Jenny family were assigned to the Verdanturf Town Police Department.

According to Liliana, Yuga's prominence in the League had led the Jenny family to send two members to ensure continued good relations with him.

The new chief is called Masato Shirai, was in his early forties and a son-in-law of the Jenny family.

Although he's not highly ranked within the family, he was very sociable and adept at handling various situations, making him well-suited for the role.

It was expected that Masato Shirai would serve as the Verdanturf Town police chief for the long term without any significant changes.

The other new appointee was an 18-year-old genuine member of the Jenny family, Saskia, who happened to be Masato Shirai's niece.

Masato Shirai's wife and Saskia's mother were sisters.

In comparison, Liliana's blood relationship with Masato Shirai and Saskia was not as close.

The Jenny family was big, with countless members.

Liliana was not a core member and had to rely on her efforts to be transferred back to headquarters.

This also explained why she had recommended Yuga to Mayor Ishida for the Gym Leader position in the first place.

She had seen potential in Yuga and hoped he could lead Verdanturf Town to greater heights, which in turn would support her own career.

Her judgment proved to be correct.

The importance of Verdanturf Town had significantly increased with the presence of the League Hall of Fame trainer stationed there.

In the past, given Liliana's position within her family, she would not have had the opportunity to work in such a crucial place.

However, Saskia was different.

She was a rising star within the Jenny family and held a more central position.

According to Liliana, Saskia was in Verdanturf Town just to build her credentials and would be transferred away once the time was right.

This was a stark contrast to Liliana, who had to climb the ranks through her efforts.

Yuga met Masato Shirai and Saskia at the Verdanturf Town Police Department.

As the Verdanturf Town Gym Leader, it was natural for him to get to know the new police chief, since they would be colleagues from now on.

Liliana, who was about to leave, had invited Yuga and introduced the two of them.

Since there was still a lot of work to hand over to Masato Shirai, she was staying in Verdanturf Town for a while longer.

Masato Shirai lived up to his name, giving off an elegant and refined first impression.

He looked more like a scholar than a police officer, exuding a cultured demeanor even in uniform.

However, Liliana had already provided Yuga with Masato Shirai's background information.

Despite his refined appearance, Masato Shirai was quite formidable, since he's also a pseudo-Elite Level trainer.

He had handled numerous significant cases and had both the experience and the skills.

Compared to the somewhat aloof Masato Shirai and Saskia, Yuga had a better relationship with Liliana.

As long as it didn't involve family secrets, Liliana was open and honest with Yuga.

While Masato Shirai gave a harmless first impression, Saskia had a much stronger presence.

She stood there with her arms crossed (although she might not have much to cross), with raised eyebrows, giving off an air of arrogance.

Yuga quickly saw through her demeanor, attributing her arrogance to her sense of superiority due to her background.

She seemed like an inexperienced newcomer, appearing quite immature in Yuga's eyes.

After the introductions, Liliana said to the three of them, "I have some work to attend to, so you all can chat for a while."

As she was about to leave, she turned back to Yuga and said, "Oh, Yuga, don't leave yet. I have something to discuss with you."

After Liliana left, Yuga exchanged pleasantries with Masato Shirai, not paying much attention to the "important" Saskia standing nearby.

When their conversation ended and Yuga was about to find Liliana, Masato Shirai discreetly slipped a Poké Ball into Yuga's hand and said with a smile, "A small gift to show my respect. Please take care of us in the future, Gym Leader Shimizu."

Yuga squeezed the Poké Ball, gave Masato Shirai a deep look, then smiled and replied, "We are all members of the League. We should look out for each other."

After Yuga left, Saskia complained to Masato Shirai, "Uncle, why are you trying to flatter him so much? Is it necessary?"

Masato Shirai tapped Saskia on the forehead and said, "It is necessary. When you become a Hall of Fame trainer someday, people will flatter you too."

It wasn't just about being a Hall of Fame trainer.

According to their information, the Max Revive from the Joy family seemed to be related to Gym Leader Shimizu.

Coupled with his exceptional strength and his status as Mr. Kunio's disciple, each aspect made him worth flattering.

"Hmph! What's so great about that? Just wait, I'll become a Hall of Fame trainer too!"

Saskia snorted dismissively and turned around to leave.

"Sigh..."

Watching his niece walk away, Masato Shirai sighed helplessly.

Saskia had been too well protected and had not experienced much hardship.

One day, she would stumble.

Masato Shirai did not come from a privileged background.

Before becoming a son-in-law of the Jenny family, he was just an ordinary League trainer, so he had experienced more than most people.

Saskia's mother and his wife held high positions in the Jenny family, and Saskia had shown great talent as a trainer from a young age.

This has shaped her current personality.

Recalling his wife's repeated instructions to take good care of Saskia, Masato Shirai felt a headache coming on.

It was going to be a tough task.

After parting ways with Masato Shirai, Yuga went to Liliana's office.

Since she hadn't officially left yet, she was still using her office.

Hearing Yuga knock, Liliana smiled and said, "Come in."

Yuga entered the office, found a place to sit, and asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Liliana sighed, "This might be the last time we work together."

She paused her work, tidied up her desk a bit, and said, "Here's the thing: the quadrennial Gym Tournament is coming up, and before that, the League will be assessing all the gyms."

"So?" Yuga asked in confusion.

"The higher-ups have appointed you as the examiner. Since the Verdanturf Gym doesn't need to undergo assessment, it's not surprising that this responsibility fell to you," Liliana continued to explain.

The Verdanturf Gym had recently been rated as an established gym, so it was exempt from the gym assessment, a privilege granted to such gyms.

Yuga nodded in understanding and asked, "Got it. When will the assessment start, and are there any other examiners?"

Unbeknownst to him, almost four years had passed since Yuga became a gym trainer, and the quadrennial Gym Tournament was approaching once again.

In order to maintain the vitality of gyms in various regions, the League conducted a gym assessment every four years, eliminating unqualified gyms and then holding the Gym Tournament to allocate some gym establishment slots.

This was how Yuga had obtained his position as a gym leader.

In response to Yuga's question, Liliana said, "Of course, there are other examiners. I believe there are four in total, working in pairs. As far as I know, Mr. Norman is definitely one of them. I don't know the identities of the other two, but they certainly won't be gym trainers—that's the rule."

"As for the exact timing of the assessment, I'm still waiting for the notification. Once I have it, I'll let you know immediately. Today, I'm just giving you a heads-up. By the time your assessment work starts, I'll probably have already left Verdanturf Town."

This was why Liliana said it would be their last time working together.

Since Lilianai was about to be transferred, after discussing work, the two of them chatted for a while longer.

By the time Yuga left the police station, it was already getting dark.

Upon returning home, Yuga remembered the Poké Ball that Masato Shirai had given him.

He took it out and opened it to find a Growlithe inside, and it was even of blue potential Growlithe.

Using a blue potential Growlithe as a gift didn't seem like something Masato Shirai would decide on his own; it was most likely a gesture of goodwill from the Jenny family.

Looking at the obedient Growlithe sitting in front of him, Yuga silently wondered: Is this considered a bribe?