The Selection

Yuga has been preparing for the Pokémon Exchange Conference ever since he received the invitation from the Aroma Day Care.

Fortunately, all the registration and related matters for the Conference were taken care of by the Aroma Day Care, so Yuga could focus on preparing the Pokémon he would use in the Conference.

Yuga spent a long time deciding which Pokémon to use for the Pokémon Exchange Conference. Currently, the most famous Pokémon from the YoYo Day Care were Trapinch, Gligar, and Clauncher. Following them were Grass-type Pokémon known for their prowess in Grassy Terrain battles.

The Grass-type Pokémon offered for sale by the YoYo Day Care could be divided into two categories.

One category consisted of high potential green potential Pokémon like Bounsweet, Petilil, Cacnea, and Fomantis.

The other category included yellow potential Pokémon like Hoppip and Oddish, which were more budget-friendly options for battles on Grassy Terrain.

Behind the Grass-type Pokémon came Fire-type Ponyta and Ghost-type Misdreavus. These two species had not been on sale for long and were less well-known compared to Gligar, Trapinch, Clauncher, and the Grass-types Pokémon.

In the end, Yuga selected two Pokémon: Trapinch and Hoppip. These two Pokémon best represented the YoYo Day Care.

First, there was Trapinch.

This Pokémon was high-end and wouldn't let the YoYo Day Care down at the Pokémon Exchange Conference, which was attended by various large Day Cares.

Furthermore, as a representative of the Hoenn region's Day Cares, Trapinch was the most suitable choice.

Neither Gligar, Misdreavus, or Ponyta were exclusive to the Hoenn region. Furthermore, Clauncher was unique to the host region, Kalos. After careful consideration, Yuga decided that Trapinch was the most suitable choice.

There was also a crucial reason for this choice—currently, the YoYo Day Care had the highest number of Trapinch available for breeding among all the Pokémon they offered.

Not to mention Gligar and Clauncher, even Ponyta's quantity was barely sufficient to maintain monthly sales.

Then, there was Hoppip.

Among the Grass-type Pokémon offered by the YoYo Day Care, Hoppip was not particularly outstanding.

However, Pokémon like Bounsweet, Petilil, and Fomantis were relatively rare, and high potential Grass-types were rotated monthly for sale. Yuga was hesitant to use these rare Pokémon for the Conference, as he didn't want to risk their well-being.

Additionally, Pokémon like Bounsweet, Petilil, and Fomantis had strong regional ties and weren't as widespread as Hoppip or Oddish.

These region-specific ties made them less suitable for competitions that might involve regional biases.

During exchanges between Day Cares, participants came from different regions, and rivalry often arose from regional pride. This could lead to a competitive environment that favored region-specific Pokémon.

As for why Yuga chose Hoppip over Oddish, one major factor was Hoppip's appearance. In terms of aesthetics, Hoppip was slightly more appealing than Oddish.

The two Pokémon Yuga selected—Trapinch, a high-end Pokémon that represented the YoYo Day Care, and Hoppip, a unique and distinctive Pokémon with its own charm—were both excellent choices.

However, Yuga had no intention of using Hoppip with its yellow potential in the Conference.

The Pokémon Exchange Conference is meant for trading Pokémon, and since it's about exchanging Pokémon, their values must be roughly equal.

Yuga had no intention of bringing back low potential Pokémon, so the Hoppip he brought with him had to have green potentials.

Although the Hoppip in Yuga's Ecopark were mainly had low potential, they were bred by Mr. kuni'o, so they could still produce some high potential ones.

According to Hatsuki, most of the large Day Cares participating in the Pokémon Exchange Conference would bring high potential Pokémon.

Low potential Pokémon were easy to obtain, and people had confidence in their own Pokémon, so there was no need to go to great lengths to trade low potential Pokémon from other regions.

Moreover, the Pokémon traded back were meant for breeding purposes, so what was the point of bringing back low potential Pokémon?

Large Day Cares had their own established low potential Pokémon markets. To continue growing, they naturally had to expand into the high potential Pokémon market.

Just like the YoYo Day Care, no matter how much they tried, their low potential Pokémon market was limited to a few cities, including Verdanturf Town, in the surrounding area. Even if they made money, how much could they really earn?

It was far more profitable to enter the high potential Pokémon market.

After all, low potential Pokémon were generally low-priced. Even if they were rare species, unless they were Pokémon like Ralts, Riolu, or Zorua, they couldn't fetch high prices, and the profits were not worth mentioning.

Other Day Cares didn't have the advantages that Yuga had, such as the Ecopark's annual maintenance, the salaries of breeding experts, and the expenses for Pokéblock, among others.

After spending money and effort to breed Pokémon, if they couldn't sell them at a good price, it would be a loss.

Although Yuga's Hoppip might not be remarkable in terms of species, and their rarity was quite common, they could create Grassy Terrains. Maybe they could be traded for some rare species of Pokémon.

You see, Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff were the only three Pokémon capable of learning Grassy Terrain through breeding. They couldn't learn it on their own.

While Hoppip might be common, it was undeniably popular.

Aside from their adorable appearance, in terms of practicality, Hoppip's final evolution, Jumpluff, was a very useful Pokémon.

The Hoppip evolutionary line could learn many disruption-type moves like Stun Spore, Poison Powder, and Sleep Powder, making them versatile.

Their final evolution, Jumpluff, was also fast, and when combined with disruption-type moves, they often surprised opponents.

Furthermore, their abilities were practical as well. Whether it was Chlorophyll, Leaf Guard, or their hidden ability, Infiltrator, if used correctly, they were all very effective.

This was the real world, and in terms of skills and abilities, as long as they were used well, they could become strong. It was not like the limitations seen in the games or animations that Yuga knew from his previous life.

However, despite Hoppip's popularity, it was rarely bred by large Day Cares.

Because bulk breeding of high potential Hoppip was not easy, and low potential Hoppip didn't meet their standards, they were left with Hoppip bred by small-scale Day Cares.

These small Day Cares had produced a large quantity of Hoppip, and Hoppip were easy to raise.

If Yuga hadn't had the privilege of having a great mentor, acquiring a sufficient number of high potential Hoppip would have been challenging.

Yuga's Oddish and Hoppip are the result of Mr. Kuni'o's decades of hard work.

Among Mr. Kuni'o's main Pokémon is a Jumpluff, which was born from the group of Hoppip he gifted to Yuga.

For decades, Mr. Kuni'o has dedicated himself to cultivating a large number of Hopipp, all with the goal of nurturing one that could match his high potential Jumpluff.

Among Yuga's Hoppip, there was one that was different. They all had Grassy Terrain, a skill that would surely interest other Day Cares.

With Hoppip that had Grassy Terrain, they could breed more Pokémon with this rare and hard-to-learn skill.

Hoppip's Grassy Terrain had the potential to double its value, or at the very least, match the value of rare Pokémon like Gligar.

However, the Pokémon used for the Pokémon Exchange Conference had to be juveniles, not adults. Yuga needed to carefully select them.

Adult Pokémon had their own thoughts and choices and couldn't be used for trading.

Juvenile Pokémon, on the other hand, hadn't fully developed their thinking abilities, and participating in the exchange Conference wouldn't have a significant impact on their future physical and mental development.

Although the Pokémon Exchange Conference didn't invite League Day Cares, Nurseries, or Day Care Centers, it did invite members of the Breeder Association.

Since all Day Cares were under the management of the Breeder Association, it was impossible for them not to participate in such a significant event.

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The relationships between League Day Cares, Nurseries, and breeding centers.

League Day Cares and breeding centers operate like a front store and factory model. Breeding centers focus solely on breeding Pokémon, while Day Cares are responsible for selling. This is different from private Day Cares that combine both functions.

Nurseries, on the other hand, act as intermediaries between League Day Cares and breeding centers. They are also responsible for selling some of the Pokémon or Pokémon eggs bred by League breeding centers to smaller Day Cares.

Most of the Pokémon or Pokémon eggs sold by Nurseries are not rare in species, and there are not too many high potential ones. They are usually the leftovers from the League Day Cares.

Nevertheless, the existence of Nurseries has supported many small private Day Cares that do not have the capability to breed Pokémon on their own, similar to Yuga's Aroma Day Care in the past.