The Targeted New Ecopark

The next day, the spot where Yuga and Amina had battled drew attention due to the extensive damage across many parts of the street. The police came specifically to inquire about the situation.

Yuga truthfully recounted what had happened the previous night, hoping they could apprehend the culprit. However, he felt the chances were slim.

After all, the person in question was a Champion-level Trainer, someone who stood at the very pinnacle of Trainers. Catching such an individual would not be an easy task.

After seeing the police off, Yuga stood at the shop's entrance, lost in thought. At that moment, Anya arrived once again. His gaze sharpened momentarily, but he quickly replaced it with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Anya. What would you like to buy today?" Yuga asked while inviting her into the shop.

"Just looking around," Anya replied with a smile.

"Sure, take your time. Let me know if you decide on anything," Yuga said, resuming his usual routine and leaving Anya to browse while he busied himself with other tasks.

Suddenly, Anya asked, "Gym Leader Yuga, I just saw the police leaving your shop. Did something happen?"

Yuga looked up at her for a few seconds before replying, "It's nothing major. Last night, someone, possibly intending to steal something, was caught in the act. The police came this morning to ask a few questions."

With that, the two of them began a casual conversation, subtly probing each other for information.

After some time, Anya decided she had spent enough time there. She bought a few jars of Pokéblocks and left after bidding Yuga farewell.

The moment Anya left, Yuga immediately summoned a Ghost-type Pokémon and instructed it to quietly follow her.

Yuga had a strong gut feeling that Anya was connected to the mysterious black-clad individual from the previous night. Both were Grass-type Trainers and shared Celebi's blessing—there were too many coincidences for him to ignore.

The summoned Haunter nodded at Yuga before vanishing and swiftly trailing after Anya.

After leaving the YoYo Day Care, Anya didn't return to her hotel right away. Instead, she wandered aimlessly through the streets. As she walked, she began to sense something was off and deliberately headed toward a less crowded area.

The Haunter following her trailed her into a small alley but suddenly realized Anya had disappeared. Alarmed, it emerged to search for her.

As soon as it revealed itself, two vines seemingly appeared out of nowhere and quickly ensnared it. Within seconds, Haunter lost consciousness.

Anya stepped out from the shadows, her expression unreadable as she looked at the unconscious Haunter. She took out a Poké Ball and attempted to capture it, but the moment the ball touched Haunter, it was deflected.

There was only one explanation for this: the Haunter already had a Trainer.

Who would secretly send a Pokémon to follow her? Anya immediately thought of Yuga, and her expression darkened.

She had her Pokémon drag the unconscious Haunter to a corner, then dialed Amina's number.

"Hello? What exactly did you do last night? Yuga is already suspicious of me and even sent a Ghost-type Pokémon to follow me today," she complained the moment the call connected.

She couldn't return to her hotel now, not knowing whether other Ghost-type Pokémon might be watching her in secret. The fact that she had discovered this one was purely by chance.

If there were a second one, going back would surely expose Amina's presence. As a fellow recipient of Celebi's blessing, Anya understood that Yuga possessed the ability to communicate with Pokémon.

Whatever Amina said on the other end of the line didn't sit well with Anya. Irritated, she snapped, "You need to leave the hotel immediately and find somewhere else to hide. You can't stay in my room anymore."

After a few more words, Anya hung up the phone and turned her inscrutable gaze to the unconscious Haunter lying on the ground.

Amina had suggested killing the Haunter to eliminate any evidence, but Anya thought better of it. If she did, Yuga would undoubtedly launch a town-wide search for her, solidifying her connection to the events of last night.

After thinking for a long time, she decided to take the opposite approach. Bending down, she picked up the Haunter and headed straight back to the YoYo Day Care.

At that moment, Yuga was in the shop assisting Ayaka and Suzuki Koen with inventorying the newly stocked incense products when he saw Anya storm into the store with Haunter in tow.

The sight of Haunter stunned Yuga.

"Gym Leader Shimizu, I'm here for an explanation," Anya said angrily, tossing the Haunter toward Yuga.

Feigning ignorance, Yuga asked, "What's the matter?"

Pointing to Haunter, Anya demanded, "Is this Pokémon from your YoYo Day Care? Not long after I left, I found it secretly following me. What was it planning to do? Or rather, who sent it after me?"

Yuga hadn't expected Haunter to be discovered, but he couldn't admit that he had sent it. At the same time, he couldn't deny that the Haunter belonged to the YoYo Day Care.

If he didn't admit it, who knows what Anya would do to Haunter. After all, Haunter followed her first, so she had every reason to hold on to it and not let go.

He couldn't ignore Haunter's safety.

After a moment of silence, Yuga could only feign ignorance and said, "This might be a misunderstanding. The Pokémon does belong to YoYo Day Care, but you know how Ghost-types are—naturally mischievous and fond of pranks. It might have followed you just to play a trick, without any malicious intent."

Anya pretended to be angry and said, "Hmph! Well, you better keep it in line. If this keeps happening, it might cause trouble one day. I'll let it slide this time, but don't let it happen again!"

Yuga smiled apologetically. "Don't worry, I'll make sure of it."

Before leaving, Yuga, to express his apology, even gave her a few boxes of rose incense for free. Truly a case of losing out big time.

Once Anya left, Yuga's face darkened. He checked Haunter's condition and, finding it unhurt, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It didn't matter that the mission was a failure—what mattered was that Haunter was safe.

Thinking back, Yuga suddenly felt a bit guilty. He had been too careless. If Anya really was involved, Haunter could have been in real danger when it was captured. A single mistake, and it might have been silenced permanently.

Too many smooth and easy days had made him inadvertently lax and overconfident. Yuga reflected deeply on his actions.

After some treatment, Haunter quickly regained consciousness. When it saw Yuga standing in front of it, it didn't immediately understand what had happened. It wasn't until Yuga explained everything that it realized it had been captured.

Realizing it had failed the task assigned by Yuga and had been caught without even putting up a fight, Haunter felt very guilty. It kept apologizing to Yuga, feeling that it had embarrassed him.

Yuga comforted it, saying, "It's not your fault. I didn't think this through and shouldn't have sent you alone to follow her."

Hearing Yuga genuinely didn't blame it, Haunter's self-reproach eased a little.

After calming Haunter down, Yuga immediately sought out Mismagius, asking it to take over the task. Unlike Haunter, Mismagius was much harder to detect, and even if it was discovered, no one could catch it.

Anya's visit to confront him only deepened Yuga's suspicions about her. But as she was also a Gym Leader, and a Gym Leader from Sinnoh at that, Yuga couldn't act against her without solid evidence.

After giving Mismagius a few instructions to investigate Anya's situation, Yuga absentmindedly returned to the store, only to find Diantha already waiting for him inside.

"You're here," Yuga greeted her casually. They had already arranged yesterday for Diantha to pick up Ninetales today.

Seeing Yuga looking listless, Diantha remarked with surprise, "You look like you're out of it. Are you still worried about last night?"

She had heard about the attack at YoYo Day Care before arriving.

"Not really," Yuga shook his head. "Just ran into another issue, but it's no big deal."

Seeing that Yuga didn't want to elaborate, Diantha didn't press further and instead brought up Ninetales.

"So, where's Ninetales? Have it come out quickly. I need to leave soon."

"Ninetales! Come on out! She's waiting for you!" Yuga turned his head and shouted into the house.

Ninetales had been up early, packing its things. Yuga didn't expect it to still be busy. It was fussing as if it were a bride preparing for her wedding day.

"Coming, coming! Why are you rushing?"

Yuga then saw Ninetales struggling downstairs with a large bag, wobbling with every step.

Yuga walked over, grabbed the bag, and said, "You're going out for work, not on a vacation! Why are you bringing so much stuff? Isn't it a hassle?"

Ninetales grumbled, "I told you to buy me a spatial bag, but you refused. Now you have the nerve to complain?"

Yuga retorted, exasperated, "Do you think spatial bags are free? You don't even use them often."

Ninetales shot back, "I'll be using them more from now on. Besides, I said I'd borrow the money from you to buy it. Once I earn my paychecks, I'll pay you back!"

Yuga shot a glare at it. "That little income of yours isn't even enough for a trip to the beauty salon. In the end, I'll still have to cover the costs."

Ninetales was so annoyed it couldn't find the words to respond and instead turned its rear toward him.

Ah... no, one mustn't casually mention a lady's rear. Let's say Ninetales turned its elegant tails toward Yuga.

Seeing this, Yuga tossed the bag onto the ground. "Fine, take it if you want. Just don't come complaining to me if it becomes a hassle."

Ninetales gave a cold snort, thinking to itself: You think I don't have a solution?

Then, Yuga saw Ninetales use its psychic powers to lift the big bag before motioning to Diantha to head out together.

Yuga was dumbfounded. Wasn't this embarrassing? Who goes out lugging a giant floating bag like that?

In the end, Yuga had no choice but to lend his spatial backpack to Ninetales.

While Yuga and Ninetales bickered, Diantha simply stood quietly on the side, watching the whole thing like it was a show.

...

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Mismagius had been secretly monitoring Anya, but her behavior remained entirely normal. Other than occasionally visiting the YoYo Day Care, she spent most of her time sightseeing around Verdanturf Town, blending in like any other tourist. Mismagius also didn't observe her interacting with anyone.

What Yuga didn't know was that the moment Anya noticed he had sent Ghost-types to tail her, she had already instructed Amina to leave. For days now, Anya had not contacted her at all.

This was all to dispel Yuga's suspicions. She even reduced her visits to the Day Care as part of her strategy.

In Anya's eyes, Amina had been far too impulsive. If you're trying to uncover someone's secrets, you have to be gradual and subtle—not rush things.

Anya's plan was sound, but Amina didn't share her sensibilities.

Amina was deeply curious about Yuga. She wanted to understand why this person, rather than Anya, had been chosen to be the apprentice of Mr. Kuni'o in this world. More than that, she wanted to uncover Yuga's secrets. If those secrets could help her return to her original world, it would be even better.

Although she knew the chances were slim, Amina had spent over a year in this world with no clues on how to return. Now, even the faintest glimmer of hope was something she couldn't afford to pass up.

Initially, Anya had ordered Amina to leave Verdanturf Town and return to Crown City in Sinnoh. However, Amina didn't listen. She had secretly remained in Verdanturf Town, unable to bear the wait.

While Anya could afford to play the long game, Amina could not.

Over the past few days, she had been covertly observing the YoYo Day Care, developing a keen interest in Yuga's Ecopark.

However, the Ecopark's defenses were too tight for her to approach. Left with no other option, she set her sights on Yuga's new Ecopark.

Unlike the main Ecopark, the new Ecopark was relatively ordinary and didn't house any significant secrets. Consequently, its defenses were more relaxed, presenting an opportunity for Amina.

That day, Amina avoided the patrolling Pokémon and sneaked near the new Ecopark. Spotting two Raticate lounging and sunbathing at the entrance, she discreetly released her Jumpluff.

"Jumpluff, use Sleep Powder," she whispered.

Jumpluff chirped in acknowledgment, releasing a light dusting of Sleep Powder from the cotton balls on its hands. Then, with a gentle Fairy Wind, it wafted the powder toward the two Raticate.

The amount of Sleep Powder released was minimal, and the wind was so subtle that the Raticate didn't notice anything unusual.

As the Raticate inhaled more of the powder, their eyelids grew heavier and heavier. They assumed it was just the warmth of the sun lulling them to sleep.

Once the Raticate were fully asleep, Amina didn't immediately rush into the new Ecopark. She waited patiently, timing her entry just as the next patrol of Pokémon passed by.

The patrolling Pokémon glanced at the two Raticate but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. After all, it was typical for the Raticate to nap in the sun like this.

When the patrol moved on, Amina finally emerged from hiding with her Jumpluff and pushed open the gates to the new Ecopark.

Although the new Ecopark was an ordinary Ecopark, it was built with a hefty investment. Upon entering, Amina was immediately struck by the overwhelming aura of wealth.

The lavish Ecopark wasn't something just anyone could afford to construct—especially not with features like the enormous block of Never-Melt Ice prominently on display. The sheer size of that chunk of ice alone must have been worth a fortune.

But this wasn't just about money. A Never-Melt Ice of that size and quality was a treasure in its own right.

At that moment, Amina couldn't help but feel a surge of envy toward Yuga.

Even though she had been a Champion in her original world, she had never been as affluent as Yuga. After all, she came from a modest background and lacked his knack for making money.