Misleading

After laughing, Yuga couldn't resist using his Keen Eye ability to examine Azumarill closely.

...

[ Azumarill ]

Type: Water, Fairy

Ability: Huge Power

Gender: Female

Potential: Blue

Level: 55

Moves: Water Gun, Bubble, Helping Hand, Bounce, Aqua Tail, Play Rough, Aqua Ring, Superpower, Hydro Pump, Belly Drum, Ice Punch, Liquidation, Icy Wind, Water Pulse, Work Up, Iron Tail.

...

This was unexpected! Yuga was startled to find that the Salamence had casually grabbed a blue potential Pokémon from the roadside.

Despite Azumarill being bullied by Salamence like a small child, its level was actually not low, and it knew quite a few moves.

But what surprised Yuga the most was that this overly delusional creature was actually female!

What Yuga didn't know was that Azumarill's extreme delusions were partly due to its exceptional potential.

In the place where Azumarill lived, its potential was unmatched, and it learned things quickly. Not long after it was born, there were hardly any Pokémon around that could defeat it, and soon enough, it was surrounded by constant praise.

For an ordinary Pokémon, being surrounded by such flattery over time could easily lead to an arrogant, self-centered personality.

But Azumarill took a different path, becoming delusional instead. After learning human knowledge from Ambipom, its delusions became even worse, and it started thinking of itself as a hero all day long.

After learning about the title "Dragon Slayer" from Ambipom, Azumarill couldn't stop thinking about it and longed to earn that "achievement," which led to the events of today.

In fact, the reason Ambipom mentioned the "Dragon Slayer" title to Azumarill could be traced back to a popular movie from a few years ago called <<Azumarill and the Evil Dragon>>.

The movie told the story of an unremarkable Azumarill who, through hard work, defeated the evil dragon, Flygon.

Back when the movie was very popular, Ambipom still lived in the human world and often saw the movie's advertisements on the streets, so it remembered the Azumarill in the film and unknowingly mimicked its character when boasting to Azumarill.

However, Ambipom had never actually seen the movie, and all its knowledge of the lines and actions came from overhearing people talk about it.

Azumarill struggled under Dragonite's foot for a while, but eventually, too exhausted to continue, it looked up at Yuga.

"You human, are you the dragon's accomplice? I advise you to switch sides to the light soon, or else when my divine power awakens, you'll regret it!"

Azumarill was still fully committed to maintaining its self-image as a brave hero with divine blood flowing within and destined from birth to eradicate evil.

Hearing this, Yuga's eyes twinkled, and he played along with Azumarill's fantasy. "Oh, warrior of the gods, this is not an evil dragon, nor am I its accomplice. We are comrades sent by the gods to help you vanquish evil!"

After speaking, Yuga gave Dragonite a meaningful look, and Dragonite quickly lifted its foot, nodding earnestly at Azumarill. Its goofy expression was surprisingly convincing.

Seeing the doubt in Azumarill's face, Yuga quickly pulled up some images of Hydreigon on his phone and showed them to Azumarill.

"Look, this is the real evil dragon. Our meeting today is no coincidence but divine guidance!"

Compared to Dragonite and Salamence, Hydreigon did indeed look more like an evil dragon. Azumarill immediately believed him. (Hydreigon: Why is my reputation getting smeared?) It threw itself at Yuga, hugging him tightly, and cried out, "My comrades! Why did you only come now? Do you know how lonely I've been?"

Suppressing his laughter, Yuga replied, "Dear comrade, from today onwards, we can fight side by side. Divine blood flows in all of us, and once our powers awaken, we will surely eradicate all evil from this world! Until that day comes, let us quietly await our destiny!"

Azumarill clenched its fists, its face full of determination. "You're right!"

Salamence and its son were stunned by Yuga's swift and convincing performance. When they finally snapped out of it, they could barely contain their laughter.

Yuga spent some time at the Sunflora Ranch and, learning that Salamence would be staying in Verdanturf Town for a few more days, so he left Shelgon behind with him while taking Dragonite and Azumarill back to the YoYo Day Care.

It was Azumarill's first time in the human world, and everything she saw was incredibly fascinating.

Standing in front of the entrance to the YoYo Day Care, Yuga said to Azumarill, "Comrade, this is the base I painstakingly built. Inside are comrades I've gathered from all corners of the world, waiting for the day when our divine bloodline awakens so we can destroy evil together!"

Moved to tears, Azumarill replied, "Comrade, you've worked so hard. From today, you are my dearest friend!"

Dragonite, who was standing nearby, nearly couldn't resist a snarky remark: "Wait until Azumarill sees the Hydreigon at home, let's see how you explain that!"

As Yuga and Azumarill were talking, Clefairy and Mime Jr., who had just returned from outside, overheard their conversation. With a look of disdain, Mime Jr. said to Clefairy, "Yuga's acting like he's got a severe case of Chūnibyō. At his age! We better stay away from him; I've heard that condition is contagious!"

Being a frequent video-watcher, Mime Jr. knew all about Chūnibyō! Yuga, having overheard that comment, stiffened but, mindful of Azumarill, he pretended not to hear anything.

And so, under Yuga's persuasion, Azumarill ended up staying at the YoYo Day Care!

Meanwhile, Luna and Honoka, who were visiting the new Ecopark, came across a pair of Raticate snoozing away.

"Are these Raticate from the Alola region? It's my first time seeing one!" Honoka exclaimed in curiosity.

Both Honoka and Luna had learned a lot in school, especially since they were aiming for the Investigation Bureau, and naturally had studied the basic Pokémon knowledge from different regions. Recognizing Alolan Raticate at a glance was not surprising.

"It seems so. It's my first time seeing them too!" Luna replied. She was unaware of the rodent infestation incident, so she didn't know when Yuga had acquired two Alolan Raticate. Intrigued, she and Honoka walked over to observe the Raticate couple more closely.

"These Raticate are much stronger than the usual ones, really impressive!" Honoka praised.

"Yeah, they're really impressive. I wonder where brother Yuga got these unique Raticate!" Luna responded.

"Luna, can I ask you something?" Honoka suddenly said, looking troubled.

"Of course, go ahead! There's nothing we can't discuss!" Luna replied cheerfully.

"It's like this…" Honoka pointed at the two Raticate and explained, "My uncle has a Leaf Stone mine…"

It turned out that recently, some unknown Pokémon had been sneaking into Honoka's uncle's Leaf Stone mine to steal the stones. These Pokémon were very cunning and hard to catch. So, Honoka wanted to ask Luna to convince Yuga to sell these two Raticate to her uncle as guards for the mine.

Upon hearing this, Luna's expression immediately darkened. "Absolutely not! You know my brother's position. Selling adult Pokémon is illegal, and he's the Gym Leader of Verdanturf Town! How could I ask him to break the law?"

Even though Luna knew she wasn't exactly the most considerate sister, she couldn't possibly betray her brother like that!

"This can be done privately. You won't tell, I won't tell—who would know? Besides, lots of people do it!" Honoka said anxiously.

Though it was true that the League prohibited the sale of adult Pokémon, it was difficult to enforce, and many people did it discreetly. Even Yuga himself had done it several times!

Of course, Luna didn't know all of this. All she knew was that if she tried to plead on Honoka's behalf, Yuga would definitely feel troubled.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear anything, and you should drop it too. I won't agree to this."

Seeing that Luna was genuinely upset, Honoka quickly blushed and apologized, "I'm sorry, Luna. I didn't think things through. I won't bring it up again!"

Luna's expression softened a bit after seeing how sincere Honoka's apology was. However, there was still a bit of tension between them. After wandering around for a little longer, they each went their separate ways.

When Yuga finished settling Azumarill into the Shallow Beach Sub-Ecopark and came back out, he saw Luna walking into the shop with a displeased look on her face.

"What's wrong? Weren't you showing your friend around the new Ecopark? Who made you mad?" Yuga teased.

"Brother..." Luna hesitated for a moment before telling Yuga about what had happened in the new garden.

"I see," Yuga said, thinking for a moment before comforting Luna. "You already turned her down, right? So there's no reason to be upset. Don't let it bother you! How about I ask Audino to make you something tasty?"

Luna wasn't comforted at all, but what could she do? It was upsetting to realize that her best friend had made such a difficult request of her. For the first time, she felt like the friend she had known for so many years suddenly seemed a little unfamiliar.

In Luna's mind, Honoka had always been a slightly shy but understanding girl.

Seeing that Luna was still pouting, Yuga sighed helplessly. He really couldn't help when it came to the conflicts between girls.

"Alright, alright, don't stay mad!" Yuga pushed Luna towards Audino. "Audino, make Luna her favorite Pecha Berry ice cream!"

Reluctantly, Luna let Audino lead her away. Meanwhile, Yuga sought out the Mismagius who had previously been tasked with keeping an eye on Kanda.

"I want you to monitor Luna's friend. If you notice anything suspicious, report to me immediately."

Yuga had already found it odd that during her rare vacation, Honoka hadn't gone home but had come to Verdanturf Town instead. Now, hearing that she wanted to buy the Raticate couple only made things seem even stranger.

Luna had said that Honoka was her fan, but Yuga hadn't seen any admiration in her eyes. That was part of the reason why he hadn't been overly friendly toward her.

Excited to have a new task, Mismagius eagerly asked for Honoka's whereabouts before vanishing in an instant.

As the saying goes, "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early." When Mismagius sneaked into Honoka's room, she just so happened to be on a phone call with someone.

"Uncle, can I give up on this?" Honoka asked the person on the other end of the line, her tone full of helplessness.

Whatever the person said in response caused Honoka to become more agitated. "But... but Luna is my best friend! You want me to deceive her… I…"

...

The phone call lasted quite a while, with Honoka constantly arguing with the person on the other end. But in the end, Honoka gave in.

"Fine... I get it! I'll do it, okay?"

After hanging up, Honoka sat at the edge of her bed, silent for several minutes. Her eyes were red, and several times it looked like tears were about to fall, but in the end, she held them back.

Mismagius lingered in Honoka's room for a while before finally leaving. As it left, it couldn't help but think, The task the boss gave me was way too easy! I had barely started and already got results.

When Yuga saw Mismagius again, he thought it hadn't had time to reach Honoka's place yet. But after listening to its report, he said, "Well done! Keep monitoring Honoka, and come report if anything else happens."

"Maah!"

Elated by Yuga's praise, Mismagius let out a joyful cry before vanishing once more.

"Uncle..." Yuga murmured to himself, then proceeded to make a phone call.

The first person Yuga contacted was Himekawa, the Deputy Director of the Hoenn Investigation Bureau.

Himekawa was very happy to receive a call from Yuga. During the Manaphy incident, Himekawa had received a lot of benefits thanks to Yuga and still owed him a favor.

The reason Yuga contacted Himekawa was to investigate Honoka's family background. Since she had already been admitted into the Investigation Bureau, her records would have been transferred there as well, so Himekawa, as the Deputy Director, was the right person to approach.

Normally, the personal records of Investigation Bureau members are highly confidential, and most people wouldn't have the authority to view them. However, Yuga's status as a Hall of Fame-level trainer granted him access to any Investigation Bureau member's information, unless they were of a director or deputy director level.

Because Himekawa still owed Yuga a favor, he handled the matter quickly, and within an hour, Yuga received detailed information from him.

Honoka came from a well-off family, nearly aristocratic in status, but she wasn't the biological child of the family she currently lived with. The man Honoka referred to as her "uncle" was actually her adoptive father by name.

This "uncle" had been a close friend and comrade of Honoka's biological parents, both of whom had once worked for the League's Investigation Bureau. However, the work of the Investigation Bureau is dangerous, and both of Honoka's parents died during a mission.

Afterward, Honoka was taken in by her current adoptive father (her "uncle"). To raise his friend's child, this man not only quit his job at the Investigation Bureau and returned home to take over the family business, but he also remained unmarried and never had biological children of his own. He was well-regarded for this in the community.

It was likely due to the influence of her parents that Honoka had chosen to join the Investigation Bureau herself.

Although Honoka's file in the Bureau was quite detailed, the information about her adoptive father was only briefly mentioned. As a result, Yuga didn't find much useful information from it.

Since Honoka's adoptive father had previously worked for the Investigation Bureau, Yuga asked if there were still any records of him within the Bureau. Unfortunately, Himekawa informed him that those records had been removed when the man resigned.