Competition

Following that, Yuga and Reggie discussed the details of the Pokémon exchange for a while, and they reached an agreement.

In about two weeks, Yuga would have ten Taillows or Swellows ready, then he would contact Reggie's grandfather in Sinnoh region to complete the Pokémon exchange.

So, Reggie and his younger brother, Paulo, temporarily stayed at the YoYo Day Care. Since they had just arrived in Hoenn, Reggie planned to rest here for two days before continuing their journey.

During lunch, Reggie finally got to taste Audino's cooking and was genuinely impressed. Yuga proudly raised his head, reveling in his cooking skills.

Meanwhile, in a forest within Hoenn region, Steven took a sip of the soup Audino had prepared for him and couldn't help but spit it out. Why was there such a stark difference? Both were Audino's dishes; how could they vary so much?

This wasn't the first time Steven had experienced this. Calmly, he put away Audino, deciding not to force it to improve its cooking skills further.

For several days at the Ecopark, Yuga had tried to tame the three Pokémon he had taken from Butler, but he had failed each time. Whether it was Salamence, Dusclops, or Mightyena, all were fiercely loyal to Butler and refused to submit to Yuga, their enemy.

Yuga sighed, acknowledging that most Pokémon's loyalty to their trainers was admirable. Still, enemies were enemies, and if he couldn't tame them, he had to deal with them. Of course, Yuga's approach wasn't to harm them but rather to exchange them for something he needed.

On the second day of Reggie's visit to the Day Care, Yuga contacted his Master. Through his Master's connections, he exchanged these three Pokémon for other Pokémon at the League's breeding facilities.

Although there is animosity between Yuga and these three Pokémon, the people from the League don't have any issues with them. The personnel at the breeding facility should have a way to tame them.

The League's breeding facility naturally welcomes this trade. Setting aside the Dusclops and Mightyena, the Salamence is a genuine and valuable pseudo-Elite Pokémon, ensuring they only profit from this exchange.

Yuga successfully obtained four Ratls and five Taillows, all of them having green potential.

He exchanged the four Ratls for Salamence, as Salamance is already in final form and Ralts is just on basic form. Trying to trade for Gardevoir or Gallade would have been too challenging.

Originally, Yuga wanted to trade for a few Torchics since, among the Three Hoenn Starter Pokémon, Torchic was the only one missing from his Ecopark. However, the person in charge of the breeding facility didn't have the authority to trade Torchics, leaving Yuga with no other option.

Interestingly, Ralts is actually more precious than Torchic and is more favored by trainers. Nevertheless, even with that in mind, the League would rather let Ralts be traded away than agree to trade Torchic.

It must be said that the League takes its three Hoenn Starter Pokémon very seriously, and they protect them with great care. If it weren't for these occasional opportunities, Yuga would have found it challenging to obtain even a Mudkip and a Trecko.

However, Yuga thought Ralts was a good addition, as it could keep his Gardevoir family in the Ecopark and help them overcome their past experiences sooner.

Five Taillow were obtained by exchanging Dusclops and Mightyena. Yuga decided to exchange them with Reggie's grandfather, knowing that he wanted these Pokémon.

Now that there are five out of ten Taillows, he only needs to prepare five more.

Coming out of the Pokémon Center, Yuga had nine more Poké Balls in his hand, and then walked back happily.

However, just as Yuga had walked a few steps, he noticed a middle-aged man in a suit approaching with two others. Seeing this person, Yuga's pleasant mood instantly soured.

This person's name is Paulo, and he is the manager of the Truly Adorable Day Care's branch in Verdanturf Town. Interestingly, his character is almost identical to his boss, Edward, and he often wears a sly expression.

The Truly Adorable Day Care officially opened shortly after the New Year, but Edward only came once for the grand opening ceremony. Since the headquarters of the Truly Adorable Day Care is located in Slateport City, it's impossible for Edward, the owner, to stay in Verdanturf Town all the time. Hence, the responsibility of overseeing this branch fell to Paulo.

Despite Paulo's recent arrival in Verdanturd Town and taking over the Truly Adorable Day Care, he has been quite creative in his marketing strategies. He has offered discounts, promotions like buying a Pokémon and receiving an Pokéblock as a gift, and various other tactics to attract customers.

These marketing strategies are understandable, considering that there are two Day Cares in the same town, which naturally creates competition. Using such methods to gain an edge is not uncommon.

However, whether these ideas were Paulo's own or his boss's directives, he frequently hangs around near the YoYo Day Care and takes the opportunity to make sarcastic remarks whenever he sees Yuga. This behavior made Yuga feel nauseated, as anyone would when constantly encountering an annoyance.

Could Yuga endure this? Definitely not. It's impossible to tolerate someone who's always hovering around like a piece of excrement.

As a result, Yuga instructed the Great Flygon, who perched on the roof day and night, to exert its pseudo-Elite aura over Paulo whenever he approached the vicinity of YoYo Day Care.

Over time, whenever Paulo got close to the YoYo Day Care, he'd feel unstable and gradually stopped coming around.

Despite Truly Adorable Day Care employing various tactics and promotions, the reputation and experience of YoYo Day Care is still there, which had been established in Verdanturf Town for many years, it meant that their business wasn't greatly impacted.

Day Cares have two primary types of customers in the Pokémon world.

The first category consists of trainers who pursue Pokémon's strength, and consequently, they also seek Pokémon with exceptional potential.

The second category includes regular people who buy Pokémon as companions and may not necessarily prioritize a Pokémon's potential (although there are exceptions).

High-end Day Cares generally target the first category, whereas smaller Day Cares like the former YoYo Day Care cater to both categories, similar to Truly Adorable Day Care's approach.

In terms of the first category, the two Day Cares didn't compete much. Trainers who select Pokémon based on potential would still find their way to a smaller Day Care if the Pokémon met their criteria, even if the Day Care had a smaller scale or less reputation.

Moreover, most trainers in the first category were not locals. They often preferred online transactions, despite occasionally visiting specific Day Cares like YoYo Day Care, where they had pre-arranged appointments.

Therefore, in the vast external market, the two Day Cares didn't have a significant rivalry when it came to customers in the first category.