Secret Deal

This person should be Taro, as Starla mentioned!

Yuga assessed the young man in the courtyard, and he observing that his long hair tied into a ponytail past his shoulders. He was standing barefoot on the wooden floor of the corridor, and approximately around 1.7 meters tall, appearing shorter than Yuga but likely due to his years of archery practice, his upright posture made him seem tall.

As Yuga looked at Taro, Taro also noticed Yuga. He put away his bow and nodded lightly at Yuga, as if greeting him.

Not far away, an elderly man with a crew cut hair sat cross-legged on the floor, while Starla was playfully teasing him. Though the old man seemed stern while scolding Starla, his eyes were filled with affection.

No need to say, this should be Mr. Genzo.

Just as Yuga was about to greet Mr. Genzo, he heard Taro say, "Master Genzo, I'll be stopping here today."

After Mr. Genzo nodded in agreement, Taro bowed at him and entered the house. When he came out again, he was no longer wearing the specialized archery attire but rather ordinary clothes.

As Taro passed by Yuga, Yuga nodded back at him in response to his earlier greeting. Then, Mr. Genzo called out, "Come in, no need to stand at the doorway."

Upon hearing this, Yuga walked to the edge of the corridor and bowed to Mr. Genzo. "Mr. Genzo."

Seeing Yuga approaching, Mr. Genzo stood up, supporting himself with his arms. He was tall and straight, with hair and a beard as white as snow. Despite his age of over seventy as Reggie claimed, he looked more like someone in his fifties; Yuga estimated that this old gentleman must have been nearly six feet tall in his youth.

"You're the Gym Leader of Verdanturf Town?" Mr. Genzo scrutinized Yuga carefully, his tone of voice firm yet not giving off an air of arrogance or condescension.

Yuga nodded. "Yes, I've come to visit to seek your guidance in archery for my Decidueye," he said respectfully.

Yuga had already informed Starla of the general situation before coming here, so Mr. Genzo wasn't surprised that the one seeking to learn archery was a Pokémon. He simply nodded and said, "Release your Decidueye and let me have a look."

Upon hearing this, Yuga quickly took out Decidueye's Poké Ball and released it.

"This is Mr. Genzo." Seeing Decidueye looking at Mr. Genzo with confusion, Yuga introduced him.

After listening to Yuga's introduction, Decidueye suddenly realized. Yuga had already informed it about the situation before they came, so it was very excited about this trip to Pacifidlog Town. Upon seeing Mr. Genzo, it quickly prostrated on the ground and performed a big ceremony of apprenticeship.

Mr. Genzo: ... I haven't decided to take you as discipline yet.

"Ahem..." Mr. Genzo lightly coughed twice, covering his mouth with his fist. "I heard you practice archery yourself. Shoot a couple of arrows for me to see." With that, he pointed to the targets at the end of the yard opposite the corridor.

Mr. Genzo's residence had the typical architectural style of the Johto region, with a spacious courtyard that had been specially modified. One-quarter of the courtyard was connected to the house, while the other parts were covered with grass. Across the corridor were rows of targets specifically for practicing archery.

Upon hearing Mr. Genzo's words, Decidueye subconsciously looked at Yuga. Encouraging it, Yuga said, "Go ahead, just like you usually do."

Decidueye nodded and hopped onto the corridor. It nervously puffed out its chest, extending its right wing. A black energy bow slowly appeared on its wing, followed by a black energy arrow appearing on its left wing.

"Shoo!"

Drawing the bow and nocking the arrow in one fluid motion, the black energy arrow hit the bullseye. Decidueye let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing this, then looked expectantly at Mr. Genzo.

"How was that, Mr. Genzo?" Yuga asked on behalf of Decidueye.

Mr. Genzo nodded expressionlessly and commented, "Not bad."

Decidueye had not formally learned archery, but its performance was indeed commendable, showing that it truly had talent.

However, after all, he was a human being, and Decidueye was a Pokémon. The standards for evaluating archery skills for humans might not necessarily be suitable for Decidueye. So, he could only evaluate based on his own personal feelings.

Upon hearing Mr. Genzo's response, Yuga asked eagerly, "So... is it possible?"

After a moment of thought, Mr. Genzo said, "I have never taught archery to Pokémon. Pokémon differ greatly from humans in terms of strength, size, perception, and so on. So, I cannot guarantee that I can teach your Decidueye to become a qualified archer. Are you sure you want your Decidueye to learn from me?"

Yuga fell into contemplation at once. These were things he hadn't considered, but what Mr. Genzo said was indeed true—Pokémon were different from humans.

"Decidueye, what do you think?" Yuga looked towards Decidueye, feeling undecided. After all, Decidueye is the one who would be learning archery from Mr. Genzo.

"Decidueye!"

Without hesitation, Decidueye nodded in agreement, determined to learn from Mr. Genzo. So, with a smile, Yuga bowed to Mr. Genzo and said, "Please, Mr. Genzo, accept Decidueye."

Seeing Yuga and Decidueye's determined and sincere attitude, Mr. Genzo could only nod in agreement and said, "Very well, Decidueye will stay."

Yuga and Decidueye, upon hearing Mr. Genzo's response, exclaimed with joy, "Thank you, Mr. Genzo!"

On the side, Starla, upon hearing Yuga and her grandfather's conversation, became excited and exclaimed, "Is Yuga staying? That's great!" Living only with her grandfather, Starla had limited interactions with outsiders. Although Taro sometimes visited them, he would always leave after practicing archery, and rarely spending time with her. So, hearing that Yuga might stay got her excited.

Seeing his granddaughter's excitement, Mr. Genzo asked Yuga, "Are you planning to leave Decidueye here alone or stay with it?"

After some thought, Yuga replied, "I'll stay here with it for a few days."

Leaving Decidueye alone here directly, he certainly couldn't rest assured!

Mr. Genzo turned to Starla and said, "Starla, arrange a room for Gym Leader Shimizu."

Starla happily ran over, took Yuga's hand, and led him into the house, saying, "Yuga, come on, I'll show you your room!"

And so, Yuga temporarily stayed at Mr. Genzo's house.

The next day, Yuga woke up feeling a bit disoriented in the unfamiliar room. It took him a while to remember that he had come to Pacifidlog Town.

When he rubbed his eyes and sleepily walked out of the room, he heard the sound of bowstrings vibrating in the courtyard.

This was the daily routine at Mr. Genzo's house, starting early in the morning with archery practice!

As Yuga entered the courtyard, he saw not only Decidueye and Mr. Genzo, who was instructing it, but even Starla, the little one, was already up early practicing archery.

Knowing that Starla was learning archery from her grandfather, Mr. Genzo, Yuga was aware of this to some extent. But he didn't expect that Starla, at such a young age, would be completely different when bending the bow and shooting arrows compared to her lively and lively image from yesterday.

She stood upright, pulled the specially made bow according to her height, and shot an arrow with a fierce glare.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow hit the bullseye.

Seeing Yuga approaching, Starla quickly put away her bow and arrow, instantly reverting to her lively self. She happily jumped to Yuga's side and said, "Yuga, you're awake! Breakfast is ready for you, come and eat!"

"Okay, i got it," Yuga nodded and replied, "Do you all practice this early every day?"

Yuga's waking time was definitely not considered late because he usually needed to train his Pokémon, so he had developed a fixed waking time. But it was evident that Mr. Genzo and Starla woke up much earlier than him.

Starla grinned, "Yep, yep."

Yuga nodded in agreement, acknowledging them as true masters of archery and his granddaughter.

After breakfast, Yuga planned to go out to train his Pokémon. When Starla saw this, she quickly stopped him, "Yuga, are you going out?"

Yuga nodded, "Yes, I'm going out to train my Pokémon." There were plenty of open spaces near Mr. Genzo's house, a perfect place for training Pokémon.

Upon hearing Yuga's response, Starla dropped her bow and arrow and shouted, "Wait for me, I want to go out with you too." After saying that, she ran into the house, and when she came out again, she was dressed in casual clothes instead of her archery attire.

As they walked out, Yuga curiously asked Starla, "Are you okay with skipping morning practice like this?"

Starla waved her hand dismissively, "It's fine, it's fine. Grandpa doesn't mind."

As they walked along, Yuga suddenly noticed a towering tower in the distance and curiously asked, "What place is that tower?"

Following Yuga's gaze, Starla looked and replied, "Grandpa says that's Sky Pillar, but I don't know what Sky Pillar is."

Sky Pillar?

Yuga remembered that Sky Pillar was somehow related to Rayquaza, but he didn't know the specifics.

Just as Yuga was about to inquire further about Sky Pillar from Starla, they saw a Salamence flying over from afar.

A Salamence? How come there's a Salamence here?

Yuga looked surprised as the Salamence flew closer and closer.

"Oh, it's Taro-san coming!" Starla exclaimed upon seeing the Salamence, seemingly unfazed.

Sure enough, Yuga then noticed Taro, whom he had seen yesterday, riding on the back of the Salamence.

Are Salamence this common around here?

Taro seemed not to notice Yuga and Starla as he flew past them on the Salamence, gradually flying farther away, but it didn't seem like he was heading towards Mr. Genzo's house.

"Where is he going?" Yuga asked Starla, as there seemed to be no signs of civilization in that direction.

Shaking her head, Starla replied, "I don't know." In fact, she wasn't very familiar with Taro.

Taro had come to their house three years ago when Mr. Genzo, while shopping in the Pacifidlog Town, was accidentally injured by a rampaging Tauros. It was Taro who saw him and brought him home.

Since then, Taro had often come back to bring them some necessities. Upon learning that Mr. Genzo was skilled in archery, he even asked Mr. Genzo to teach him.

Taro hadn't formally apprenticed under Mr. Genzo; he just came to learn from him in his spare time. Mr. Genzo knew that he was from Pacifidlog Town, so he taught him with some care.

However, Taro was a quiet and solitary person, he spending most of his time practicing archery at Mr. Genzo's house and not willing to talk much with others.

So, Starla, who had a lively personality, wasn't close to Taro, and naturally, they weren't very familiar with each other.

"Is Taro from Pacifidlog Town? Does he live alone?" Yuga casually asked Starla.

"Yes, Taro-san lives in Pacifidlog Town. He has parents too! I've seen them!" Starla replied, giving a brief overview of Taro's family situation. When she mentioned about his parents, there was a hint of envy in Starla's tone. She didn't have parents; she only had her grandfather.

"Ah, I see," Yuga nodded in understanding and didn't inquire further.

Perhaps he was too sensitive; upon seeing Sky Pillar and the Salamence, he subconsciously thought about The Draconid people.

However, what Yuga didn't know was that at that moment, inside a typical residential house in Pacifidlog Town, an elderly woman of The Draconid people and a man wearing a white mask were sitting face to face.

"Here's what you wanted," the man in the white mask said, placing an exquisite iron box on the table and then pushing it towards the elderly woman.

The elderly woman gave a nod to the woman behind her, and she quickly opened the iron box on the table. Inside the palm-sized iron box was a Master Ball.

Seeing the nod from the elderly woman, the woman closed the iron box and tucked it into her arms.

"I must remind you, our technology is limited. The Pokémon inside won't last long. If you have any use for it, better make it quick. I won't be responsible once it expires," the man in the white mask said casually.

The elderly woman said expressionlessly, "This is our business. You don't need to meddle in it."

"I just heard from your little brother at home that Shimizu Yuga has come to Pacifidlog Town," the man in the white mask casually changed the topic.

The elderly woman replied indifferently, "So what if he did?"

"Hehe..." The man in the white mask chuckled lightly, "I just want to advise you to avoid him. He's not someone to mess with. It was clear, whatever you're up to isn't anything good."

"Huh! Do you think we're like you?" the elderly woman scoffed disdainfully. She was well aware of the recent heavy losses suffered by the Heaven's Organization in the League's hands. "You better mind your own business."

In the elderly woman's eyes, Yuga was just an insignificant junior. She was the leader of The Draconid people, a powerful Master level Trainer. Even if his master, Mr. Kuni'o, came, he wouldn't gain any advantage over her.

As for Yuga defeating Rayquaza before, she didn't believe a single word of it. She had watched all the videos filmed in Rustboro City; it was obvious that the strange looking unknown Pokémon was the one who defeated Rayquaza and it also perished under Rayquaza hands.

How could their revered Dragon God that was worshipped by their great Draconid people, lose to a kid?

"In that case, I'll take my leave," the man in the white mask said, showing no concern for the elderly woman's contempt. He genuinely looked down upon these arrogant Draconid people. With that, he got up and left the residence.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yuga returned to Mr. Genzo's house after training with his Pokémon. Taro was already practicing archery in the yard.