Steven's Strength

After arranging a meeting time and place with the middle-aged man, Misaki hurriedly left the new shop.

Misaki was cautious this time, wearing a mask to prevent anyone from recognizing her.

When she arrived at the café's private room, the middle-aged man was already seated inside.

Seeing Misaki enter, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Miss Misaki, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you."

Misaki sat across from the middle-aged man, adjusted her collar, and straightened her posture. She said, "I have to be careful not to draw attention."

The middle-aged man nodded in agreement and asked, "Did you bring what I need, Miss Misaki?"

Instead of answering, Misaki asked, "Have you ever considered that secretly bribing me to steal the recipes for the Heavies, Enigma, and Vitality Pokéblocks might be illegal? If someone finds out, you could end up in prison."

Intellectual property and trade secrets were highly protected under the law in the Pokémon world. Challenging these laws wasn't something that could be resolved with just fines; it could indeed lead to imprisonment.

The recipes for these three Pokéblocks owned by Yoyo Day Care were both trade secrets and protected intellectual property.

Although the middle-aged man found Misaki's tone strange, he didn't pay much attention to it and replied with a smile, "As long as you keep quiet, and I keep quiet, no one will know, right, Miss Misaki?"

Misaki lowered her head and said, "Indeed, as long as I don't speak, no one will know."

"If I provide you with the recipes for these three Pokéblocks, will you really help me secure a position at Truly Adorable Day Care?" Misaki asked once again.

"Of course, I have no reason to deceive you. Furthermore, once things are successful, I'll give you some money. Yuga won't be at a loss," the middle-aged man assured her repeatedly.

"Alright then, I'll trust you this once." Saying this, Misaki retrieved three sheets of paper from her bag, each covered in writing.

Just as the middle-aged man excitedly reached out to take them, Misaki pulled her hand back and said, "Have you considered that your actions could potentially ruin Yoyo Day Care?"

The middle-aged man wiped the smile off his face and replied nonchalantly, "Wouldn't it be better if they went downhill? Wretched Day Cares like theirs should have closed long ago. I'm just giving them a little nudge."

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, anger surged within Misaki as she said, "You're truly despicable."

The middle-aged man, rather than being ashamed, took pride in it and said, "Thank you for the compliment."

Misaki tossed the three sheets of paper onto the table before him and said, "You'll face consequences sooner or later."

The middle-aged man paid no attention to Misaki's words; if consequences were a real concern, he would have suffered countless times over.

"If I'm to face consequences, as an accomplice, Miss Misaki, your fate won't be much better."

With that, the middle-aged man picked up the three sheets containing the Pokéblock recipes from the table, carefully examined them to ensure there were no issues, and then looked up at Misaki, saying, "Miss Misaki, wait for my good news."

"Hmph!"

Hearing the middle-aged man's dismissal, Misaki gave a cold snort and turned to leave the private room. As she left, she slammed the door with a "bang," as if releasing all her anger at the middle-aged man onto the door.

Observing this, the middle-aged man shook his head with disdain, unfazed by Misaki's behavior.

"Hmph, just a puppet. Who does it think it's deceiving?"

Meanwhile, at Yoyo Day Care...

As Yuga was idly playing with Dian and Skitty on a tree, he spotted Steven entering the shop with Lairon.

Seeing Yuga, Steven approached with Lairon and smiled, saying, "Lairon heard that we've arrived in Verdanturf Town. So Lairon insisted on coming to see you."

"Lairon, Lairon."

Lairon narrowed its eyes, nodding along with Steven's words and making a series of affirmative sounds.

Just as Yuga was about to speak, Catot, which had been preening its feathers in a nearby tree, noticed Steven and Lairon approaching. It immediately flapped its wings and landed on Lairon's back.

"Darling, you're sneaking around behind my back to flirt with others? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

When Steven first arrived at Yoyo Day Care, Catot was still in the Ecopark, so it hadn't seen Steven before.

"This Catot can actually talk!" Steven exclaimed in surprise, looking at the Catot perched on Lairon's back.

"That's right."

Catot arrogantly shook its restless head and proudly said.

"Uh huh, it's barely passable in looks, though it's still a bit worse than me."

Catot appraised Steven and muttered while pinching its chin with its wing.

Amused by Catot's demeanor, Steven smiled and said, "Hehe, Yuga, your Catot is quite interesting."

Upon Steven's praise, Yuga could only chuckle.

Catot flapped its wings and landed on Steven's shoulder, then leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Quickly tell me, how did you and our darling become a couple?"

Seeing Catot's behavior, Yuga was afraid it might blurt out something outrageous, so he quickly grabbed it off Steven's shoulder and covered its beak. He awkwardly said to Steven, "It just babbles nonsense, don't mind it."

Struggling to break free from Yuga's grasp, Catot attempted to escape from Yuga's clutches, but it was no match for Yuga's strength.

Finally managing to stick its head out from under Yuga's hand, it gasped for breath and said, "You heartless person! I promote your business by attracting customers every day, and without me, would your business be this prosperous? Yet, you treat me this way!"

Rolling his eyes, Yuga retorted, "If you could just say a bit less nonsense, I'd be grateful."

Observing Yuga and Catot bickering, Steven laughed heartily and said, "You two have a really good relationship!"

"Who has a good relationship with it!"

"That's a must!"

The first statement was from Yuga, and the second was from Catot.

After sending Catot away, Yuga focused his attention on Lairon, who had come to meet him.

...

<<Lairon>>

Type: Steel/Rock

Ability: Sturdy

Gender: Male

Potential: Blue

Level: 59

Moves: Tackle, Harden, Headbutt, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Rock Slide, Iron Tail, Iron Defense, Take Down, Lightened Body, Heavy Slam, Stone Edge, Double-Edge, Dragon Rush.

...

After reading this, Yuga marveled. Steven truly lived up to his reputation. Even in its unevolved state, Lairon was slightly stronger than the most powerful Pokémon in his Ecopark.

At this moment, Yuga couldn't help but wonder how strong Steven's ace Pokémon, Metagross, was. He wondered if it had reached the Champion-level.

Yuga hadn't seen Wallace's Pokémon, but considering his relationship with Steven, they probably weren't far behind in strength.