Exposure

The winter in Hoenn is short, and in the blink of an eye, February has arrived, and the entire Verdanturf Town is already lush with green trees and vibrant flowers.

After a winter of hard work, the Pokémon Contest venue in Verdanturf Town has undergone almost complete reconstruction, making it capable of accommodating more spectators, and providing trainers with a larger stage to showcase their moves.

With the financial support of the Devon Corporation and the endorsement of the Pokémon Contest Official, preparations for the Wallace Cup have proceeded smoothly.

At the same time, the promotional efforts for the Wallace Cup are in full swing, and trainers from various regions are well aware that this year Wallace Cup will be held in Hoenn's Verdanturf Town.

Although they don't quite understand why the Pokémon Contest officials chose such an inconspicuous little town like Verdanturf Town to host such an important event, however they have little say in the matter since it's the official decision.

Subsequently, over the course of the next month, more and more trainers from around the world began to arrive in Verdanturf Town, all eager to participate in the Wallace Cup taking place in March.

Verdanturf Town became bustling with activity.

Yuga's good friend Robert had already checked into the Pokémon Paradise Hotel early. When Luna and the others returned for the New Year, they had told Yuga that Robert had resigned from their school.

Robert had obtained his teaching position thanks to their teacher, Mr. Juan, but it was always a temporary job for him. Now, as a passionate coordinator, he was ready to set out on a new journey.

Although Robert had won the championship in the Pokémon Contest's Grand Festival and become a top coordinator, he was still far behind his senior, Wallace. Therefore, he needed to work even harder.

In the eyes of all coordinators, Wallace held a status equivalent to that of a League Champion in the eyes of traditional trainers, or even higher.

As a relatively young profession with a short history, the Pokémon Contest had been greatly developed by Wallace, who was also the world's first superstar of the Pokémon Contest.

In terms of popularity, Wallace was no less than any League Champion.

One could say that the Pokémon Contest's officials now revolved around Wallace, as evidenced by Wallace's ability to directly decide the location of the Wallace Cup.

Unless one day, someone could rival Wallace or even surpass him, this dominant situation would remain unbroken.

With March approaching, the flow of people in Verdanturf Town surged, and all hotels were fully booked, including Yuga's Pokémon Paradise Hotel. His uncle had been talking non-stop since the New Year, and he practically kicked up a storm when he walked.

The largest hotel in Verdanturf Town now belonged to the Devon Corporation.

To accommodate the large number of tourists, spectators, and participants, the Devon Corporation had purchased and renovated the town's original largest hotel during the winter.

Money truly had the power to make things happen, and the corporation had gone all out to support Steven's ascent to the League Champion throne.

If Steven could successfully claim the title of League Champion, all their investments would not be in vain.

The Devon Corporation would transition from a large enterprise to the new top force in the League.

As the date of the Wallace Cup drew near, the streets and alleys of Verdanturf Town were filled with promotional materials for the event. Almost everyone seen walking on the streets, riding their Pokémon, was either a spectator or a participant in the competition.

With Verdanturf Town overflowing with visitors, the business at YoYo Day Care also thrived. While high potential Pokémon were restricted from sale here, there was no such restriction on lower potential Pokémon.

Moreover, YoYo Day Care had many rare species of Pokémon like Gligar, Trapinch, Ponyta, and Clauncher. Even if their potentials were only "Yellow," there were still many people willing to buy them.

In addition, items like Pokéblocks and Incense are also selling very well. Players are very focused on adjusting their Pokémon's condition for the competition, and high quality incense and Pokéblocks play a crucial role in this.

In just one short month, YoYo Day Care was almost out of stock for Pokéblocks and incense. Misaki, Lain, Anya, Sean, and Kano were almost exhausted.

In the morning, a boy with green hair arrived at YoYo Day Care with his mother. He looked around the store but didn't see the person he wanted to meet.

The store was already crowded with customers, and Suzuki Koen, Audino, and Wigglytuff were busy entertaining people. They didn't notice the boy.

"How is it, Drew? Did you see Mr. Shimizu?" the boy's mother asked him.

This boy was none other than Drew, the boy Yuga had met during the League Store bidding in Lilycove City.

Drew's mother was a fan of the Pokémon Contest and a loyal follower of Wallace. So when she learned that the Wallace Cup would be held in Verdanturf Town, she came with great excitement.

Drew knew that Yuga lived in Verdanturf Town, and when he learned that his mother was coming to Verdanturf Town, he decided to come along.

Drew's mother also knew that her son had met a Gym Leader of Verdanturf Town. During their family trip to Lilycove City, she had heard her son praise Yuga many times, even though they hadn't met in person.

Upon hearing her mother's question, Drew shook his head in disappointment.

At this moment, a long-time customer of YoYo Day Care, who overheard Drew's mother's words, said, "Are you looking for Mr. Shimizu? I just saw him heading to the new store across the street. You can go there to find him."

"Oh, I see. Thank you," Drew's mother replied.

After the customer said there was no need to thank him, she said to Drew, "Let's go across the street and take a look."

Drew nodded.

Yuga was indeed in the new store, chatting with his former classmate Eisuke.

Eisuke spent most of his time traveling and training outside. Although he wasn't a coordinator, he decided to come back to Verdanturf Town when he heard about the grand Wallace Cup being held here.

After all, he hadn't been back for a long time. Even during last year's New Year, he couldn't come back due to some last-minute business.

During their school days, Yuga and Eisuke weren't particularly close despite being classmates. However, as Eisuke frequently helped with the business at YoYo Day Care, the two gradually became more familiar with each other.

Today, Eisuke had come to the store to accompany his cousin, who was also a fan of Wallace but not a trainer. She wanted to buy a Pokémon that resembled Wallace's for the sake of being a fan. That's why Eisuke had brought her to YoYo Day Care.

Wallace had many Pokémon, but the one that gained fame was the Milotic.

Yuga couldn't sell his Milotic, so he intended to recommend other Pokémon to Eisuke's cousin. However, when she found out that YoYo Day Care had Feebas available, she insisted on buying one.

Buying a Feebas wasn't an issue, but evolving it into a Milotic naturally wasn't easy. Feebas that couldn't evolve into Milotic couldn't be considered Wallace-style.

Although Yuga had Beautie Pokéblocks that could help Feebas evolve into Milotic, he had no intention of giving them to Eisuke's cousin. These Beautie Pokéblocks were not for sale outside the partnership with Sootopolis Gym.

Evolving a Feebas into Milotic required a Prism Scale, and even with a yellow potential Feebas, the chances of achieving this were low.

However, Eisuke's cousin insisted on buying Feebas and promised to take good care of it, even if it couldn't evolve into a Milotic. So Yuga agreed to sell her one.

While Yuga was chatting with Eisuke, YoYo Day Care and Verdanturf Gym had increased the number of patrol Pokémon due to the surge in people visiting Verdanturf Town.

Not only were the pseudo-Elite Great Flygon, accompanied by a group of Flying-type Pokémon, patrolling the skies above the Day Care and Gym, but also the Natu that concealed themselves in the shadows ans even the Elite level Noctowl was dispatched by Yuga.

Noctowl is Pokémon that good at hidimg, and it had brought along its mate, a Chatot, to stealthily observe the surroundings of the Gym and Day Care.

On the ground, it was the territory of Persian and Linoone and Mightyena couple.

Persian was backed by its three wives, and they were followed by a string of younger siblings that it had taken under its wing. They were the dominant force in the area, and few dared to provoke them.

Over time, Persian had taken in many cat-type Pokémon, of various species. These Pokémon didn't just sit idly by; they made significant contributions to the patrol work.

The Verdanturf Town police station often received reports of thieves and robbers apprehended by them.

The partners of Linoone and Mightyena patrol team were the Kecleon couple, Ariados and Galvantula couple.

Linoone was the most powerful single member of the ground patrol team, and while their numbers weren't large, each one was elite.

The Kecleon couple good at concealment, while the Aridos and Galvantula couple were good in ambush tactics. If they targeted someone, it wasn't a joking matter.

With more and more people coming to Verdanturf Town, the patrol Pokémon were on high alert during their rounds, giving it their all and not letting their guard down, fearing that there might be troublemakers among the newcomers.

However, when trouble was destined to happen, it would still occur.

The Liepard family is also part of the ground patrol team. However, they have a solitary nature and rarely agree to team up with others. Today was no exception.

In the past, during patrols, Liepard would often bring along its younger sister, Zorua, but recently, with the increased population in Verdanturf Town, Yuga instructed Zorua and their mother, Zeroark, to stay inside the Ecopark to prevent any accidents.

Zorua and Zeroark were incredibly valuable, and even though they were good at transformation, accidents could still happen in a world full of discerning people.

Zeroark was relatively fine with staying indoors; she didn't like going out anyway. Even when her husband and two daughters were out, she preferred to stay inside the Ecopark, probably due to past experiences of being pursued by humans.

But Zorua was different. Among the Liepard family, it had the liveliest and most active personality.

Following Yuga's instructions, Zorua indeed hadn't left the Ecopark for a while, and patrols were usually carried out by Liepard and Liepard's father.

Today, Zorua just couldn't resist it anymore. It knew that Verdanturf Town had been exceptionally lively recently, and its restless heart couldn't be restrained.

Seeing its sister and father getting ready to go out, Zorua started to act cute, wanting to join them. Initially, the two Liepard were against it, but they were helpless when it came to their fondness for their little sister (daughter) and her adorable behavior.

They thought that as long as Zorua transformed into a Purrloin and followed behind them, nothing too unfortunate would happen, so they allowed their little sister (daughter) to accompany them for this trip.

However, they didn't realize that something was seriously amiss with Zorua in the past couple of days.

After they left the Ecopark with their sister, Zorua initially seemed excited, but soon, it felt weak and lacked energy.

At first, Liepard and Liepard's father thought Zorua was simply tired from playing, but when they noticed the constant flickering of an evolution light on its body, they realized that something was amiss.

Their little sister (daughter) was about to evolve!

Having experienced evolution themselves, Liepard and its father were quite familiar with this situation.

Liepard and Liepard's father: This stubborn girl, she's about to evolve, and she didn't even notice such a significant event!

They immediately wanted to take their little sister (daughter) back to the Ecopark, but it was already too late. Helplessly, they could only drag her to a secluded spot.

As they entered an empty corner, Zorua, who had transformed into a Purrloin, couldn't maintain the illusion and reverted to its original form.

However, what they didn't know was that their panicked escape had been noticed by someone else.

Wisecat was a trainer from the Unova Region and, beyond that, a fan of Pokémon Contests.

However, the Unova Region didn't have Pokémon Contests, so when he learned that Verdanturf Town was hosting the Wallace Cup, he traveled a long way to participate in this grand event.

While touring near Verdanturf Gym, he noticed two Liepard and a Purrloin.

Liepard and Purrloin were unique to the Unova Region, and it was quite rare to see them in Hoenn. Due to their shared place of origin, he felt a certain kinship with them and gave them an extra glance.

However, his attention was suddenly drawn to the Purrloin as it began to emit an evolution light. Being a trainer, he knew immediately that the Purrloin was about to evolve.

Seeing the two Liepard hastily dragging the Purrloin away, driven by curiosity, he decided to follow them.

He thought: If possible, why not capture this Purrloin and the two Liepard? The fact that they met in a foreign land suggests that there might be some fate between us.

Not being a local resident of Verdanturf Town, he was unaware of the habit of YoYo Day Care Pokémon patrolling the area. Seeing the Liepard and the Purrloin wandering around outside, he mistakenly thought they were stray Pokémon.

As he continued to follow them, Wisecat soon discovered something extraordinary.

The Purrloin slowly transformed into a precious Zorua.