A Dim Target

Mr. Moore went to his room and retrieved a Poké Ball, then he took Yuga outside. With a casual toss of the Poké Ball, the Charizard was released.

As soon as the Charizard emerged, it roared angrily at Mr. Moore. However, Mr. Moore paid it no mind, smiling as he said, "Since you've already lost to me, behave yourself."

Hearing Mr. Moore's words, the Charizard quieted down and turned its head away, unwilling to look at Mr. Moore.

After returning to the base, the Charizard had received some treatment, and its injuries were mostly healed. That's why it had the energy to be so irritable when facing Mr. Moore.

"Charmander!"

At that moment, the Charmander hiding behind Yuga noticed its mother. It cautiously peeked out from behind Yuga's leg.

The Charizard was immediately drawn to the Charmander upon hearing its cry. When it saw the Charmander behind Yuga, its eyes lit up, and it seemed genuinely happy.

"Charizard!"

The Charizard let out a roar towards the Charmander, which immediately dashed towards its mother with excitement. It then embraced the Charizard's sturdy thigh, shedding tears and acting spoiled.

The Charizard lowered its head and gently rubbed the Charmander's smooth head with its own. Its eyes were filled with affection, a stark contrast to its fierceness during the day.

"In the future, this child will be Charmander's Trainer!"

While the Charizard and Charmander were affectionately interacting, Mr. Moore suddenly pointed at Yuga and spoke to the Charizard.

Upon hearing this, the Charizard shifted its gaze towards Yuga, then opened its massive mouth and let out a deafening roar. The force of its voice made Yuga's head throb, as if it disapproved of its child following Yuga.

"Hello, Charizard! I'm Yuga."

Yuga wiped some of the saliva that had splattered onto his face by the Charizard's roar. He felt the overwhelming pressure the Charizard exerted on him and had trouble catching his breath.

"Don't be like this!" Mr. Moore quickly intervened. "This child is an outstanding Trainer; he won't waste your child's talent."

The Charizard turned its head away from Mr. Moore with a skeptical look, but after observing Yuga for a moment, it tilted its head, pondered, and nodded. It agreed to let the Charmander follow Yuga.

It sensed a natural aura around Yuga.

The Charizard hadn't encountered Celebi, so it didn't know about the power Celebi had left behind. However, this kind of aura easily gained the favor of Pokémon, and the Charizard was no exception.

Anyone who could possess such an aura couldn't be a bad person. That was the Charizard's simplest thought.

Upon seeing the Charizard's nod, Yuga breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't yet know that Celebi had assisted him once again.

The Charizard gently spoke a few words to the Charmander. The Charmander released its grip on the Charizard's thigh and took three steps back, tears glistening in its eyes.

Yuga and Mr. Moore didn't understand what the Charizard had said, but it was clear that the Charizard was reluctant to part with the Charmander.

After hearing the Charizard's words, the Charmander gently loosened its hold on the Charizard's thigh and took a few steps back, tears still in its eyes.

"What a crybaby," Yuga sighed, then gently picked up the Charmander. He reassured the Charizard, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of it, and in the future, it will become as strong as you."

The Charizard nodded gently in response, then turned to Mr. Moore and let out a final roar, not holding back at all.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Mr. Moore said helplessly.

With that, he took out the Charizard's Poké Ball and recalled it. Now that the Charizard was assured of the Charmander's safety, it didn't fuss or feel sad about the separation. Instead, it was quite decisive.

Mr. Moore recalled the Charizard and said to Yuga and the Charmander, "Take good care of this child!"

Yuga nodded in agreement and bid farewell with the Charmander.

The following day, Yuga and his companions proceeded to the dormant volcano as usual to continue capturing Pokémon.

As numerous Trainers gradually arrived at the volcano, Pokémon were sent to the base one by one. From there, the base staff transported them to the natural conservation area established by the Pokémon League.

In this area, the League had guardians in place, so the Pokémon sent there didn't need to worry about Pokémon Poacher. They were also equipped with resident Pokémon doctors, so even if they experienced any health issues like "headaches" or "fever," they'd be well taken care of.

However, Yuga hadn't yet found a suitable Fire-type Pokémon to serve as the seed for his "Pseudo-Pokémon Starter Trio." While he encountered several Fire-types, none of them were the right fit.

Three days later, the density of Pokémon in the entire West Coast, including the area around the dormant volcano, had significantly decreased. Sometimes, they wouldn't encounter any Pokémon for half a day, and when they did, it was usually Pokémon that posed no threat to their capturing team, so they could simply ignore them.

That evening, after Yuga and his companions returned, they went to hand over the Pokémon they had captured that day. However, the number of Pokémon captured that day was relatively small, with all three of them capturing only a dozen or so Pokémon in total. This was a significant drop compared to the previous days.

It had been a golden opportunity for these Trainers to earn Merit Points, and almost all the Trainers who came during this time had made a fortune. There was nothing remotely similar to this outside.

After handing over the Pokémon, Yuga checked his personal account. He realized that in just five days, he had accumulated over five thousand Merit Points.

Yuga's Merit Points were not that high, as he tended to keep high-potential Pokémon for himself. Those who handed over all their captured Pokémon earned far more Merit Points than him.

Yuga also reviewed the Pokémon he hadn't handed over during these three days.

Two Cyndaquils, two Houndour, and a Camerupt, all with green potentials.

Combined with the Shiny Ariados, two Lombre, two Surkrit, the Ursaring and its egg captured on the first and second days, three Swellow, and two Flareons, Yuga's harvest had already been quite substantial.

However, he still hadn't achieved his initial goal.

Yuga had initially thought that if he could find enough Houndour or Camerupt, they would make excellent alternatives. However, the numbers of these two Pokémon, although not small, didn't meet his requirements in terms of quality.

He wasn't hoping for a quantity like Gligar or Trapinch, even having just ten of them like Tsareena would be sufficient. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Yuga hadn't yet obtained ten Fire-type Pokémon; not to mention a single species with ten members.

As Yuga and his companions were returning after handing over the Pokémon, they suddenly heard the assembly call over the loudspeaker. They hurried to the base's square.

When they arrived, Mr. Moore was already there. Seeing that most people had gathered, he began, "The Pokémon cleanup mission on the West Coast is nearly complete. Tomorrow will be the final day of this operation. I hope you are all prepared."

Upon hearing that tomorrow was the last day of the mission, the crowd below let out a collective sigh. They were about to lose the excellent opportunity to earn Merit Points.

Even if they stayed behind, there weren't enough Pokémon left for them to capture. Unless they went to the other three coasts, but they might not have the strength for that.

Even on the West Coast, Mr. Moore had resolved the powerful Pokémon in advance, which was why their mission had been so easy.