Chapter 1064: Gary and the Scholar Expedition

This time, Yuga didn't bring Cosmoem, Kartana, Abomasnow, or Decidueye with him when he left.

So, the next day after returning, Yuga needed to check on their training progress while he was away.

It's hard for Yuga to see if Cosmoem has made any progress because his sharp eye can't see its data, and Cosmoem only knows two moves: Cosmic Power and Teleport.

Cosmic Power is a move that enhances defense, but Cosmoem already has very high defense. Even without using Cosmic Power, most Pokémon can't do much to it while it's just standing still.

Additionally, Cosmoem's Teleport is even more proficient than Nana's, so Yuga couldn't tell if it had made any progress in that aspect either.

When Yuga asked Cosmoem if it had been diligently training these past days, Cosmoem said it had, and so did Wigglytuff. So, Yuga just took their word for it. Now that he was back, Cosmoem wouldn't have any chance to slack off.

Kartana's progress was quite evident, however. According to Aegislash, Kartana had been relentlessly honing its swordsmanship during Yuga's absence, making a significant breakthrough in its technique.

Unlike Cosmoem, which couldn't participate in battles, Yuga could easily gauge Kartana's improvement through combat.

Previously, Kartana's battle strength was roughly on par with an average pseudo-Elite Pokémon. After Yuga's return, he had Kartana spar with Breloom, and thanks to its superb swordsmanship and elusive speed, Kartana managed to fight Breloom to a draw.

Although Breloom hadn't been an Elite-level Pokémon for long, being Elite-level was still significant. Kartana's ability to fight it to a draw was proof of its hard work.

Of course, Kartana's rapid progress wasn't solely due to its effort; talent was also an indispensable factor.

Thinking about Abomasnow and Decidueye, both older than Kartana and equally diligent in their training, it was clear that they wouldn't stand a chance against Kartana in a fight.

However, Abomasnow and Decidueye had also made significant progress recently, especially Abomasnow, who surpassed Decidueye and broke through to pseudo-Elite level first, achieving a comeback. Yuga suspected this might be related to Abomasnow being a variant Pokémon.

But for Yuga's main Pokémon, the real challenge begins after reaching pseudo-Elite level. It requires extensive time to accumulate experience and temper themselves, requiring them to endure loneliness and focus on honing their skills.

Breloom, Bellossom, Venusaur... they all took several years to break through from pseudo-Elite to their current Elite level.

Decidueye's progress was reflected in its archery skills.

While Yuga was away, Decidueye spent most of its time in Kanto, training in archery under Mr. Genzō. It only returned a few days ago.

After Mr. Genzō and Rin settled in Kanto, they maintained close contact with Yuga, with Rin periodically calling Yuga to report on Decidueye's training progress. So, Decidueye was the only one whose progress Yuga was fully aware of.

Now, Decidueye could combine its archery with the Spirit Shackle move to release a barrage of arrows simultaneously, covering a wide area. Any Pokémon not strong enough that got hit by the Shadow Arrows in the barrage would be immobilized.

Overall, Yuga was quite satisfied with everyone's progress.

After returning, Yuga enjoyed a few leisurely days, either taking his Pokémon out for a stroll on the streets or attending to the customers in his shop... there were no major worries.

However, as the fame of the Yo-Yo Nursery continued to grow, the shop had more and more customers every day, which sometimes gave Yuga a headache. Seeing Suzuki Mina so busy that her feet barely touched the ground, he decided to hire an additional employee for both her and Aunt Hisako.

Currently, most of the work in both the old and new shops was handled by Suzuki Mina and Aunt Hisako. Although they were technically regular employees, they were essentially acting as branch managers.

With the increasing workload, the two of them were starting to struggle to keep up.

Even though Yuga paid Suzuki Mina and Aunt Hisako well, no amount of pay could turn a person into a multitasking wonder, so hiring new employees became a necessity.

Yuga easily resolved the issue of new hires by mentioning it to Ms. Kawa, the director of the Forest House, who then introduced two people to him from the Forest House.

Since Verdanturf Town had been developing well and its fiscal revenue had increased, the Forest House orphanage received enough funding from the Verdanturf Town government, so it was no longer struggling as it once did.

Moreover, Mayor Ishida had been actively promoting the Forest House, so it also received donations from various social circles from time to time.

Yuga was only hiring two salespeople this time, so Ms. Kawa introduced two newly turned sixteen-year-olds—a boy named Kyo and a girl named Ayaka.

These two were lively and talkative, and after passing the interview, Yuga hired them immediately. Kyo was assigned to the new shop to assist Aunt Hisako, while Ayaka was assigned to the old shop to help Suzuki Mina.

After observing them for a few days, Yuga found that the two of them were very diligent and quickly adapted to the work in the shop. They were like busy little bees, running in and out, significantly easing the burden on Suzuki Mina and Aunt Hisako.

With the addition of the two new employees, Yuga's days became even more relaxed. However, this peaceful period didn't last long.

One day, while Yuga was bathing a newly born Meowth in the gym—this Meowth was the offspring of one of the minions adopted by the cat boss couple in the gym's small ecological park—he was interrupted.

Most of the cat boss's minions were stray Pokémon, and after being adopted by the couple, they patrolled the streets and alleys of Verdanturf Town daily.

Since they were light-footed cat Pokémon, they could appear in various places and often picked up unexpected information, serving as Yuga's eyes and ears in Verdanturf Town.

In return, Yuga paid them with food.

As the quality of life improved, these Pokémon gradually had offspring.

However, the original Pokémon were not particularly strong, so their offspring weren't much better in terms of abilities. Therefore, most of the newborn Pokémon were adopted by ordinary families, looking for companions, thanks to Yuga's efforts.

Since cat-like Pokémon are mostly cute and gentle, many people were willing to adopt them, preventing an overpopulation crisis in the small ecological park of the gym.

In fact, Yuga rarely managed these Pokémon in the gym's small ecological park; even feeding them was handled by Miltank or Chansey.

With the protection of the dominant cat couple and the fact that these were originally stray Pokémon, as long as they had enough food, they could live well without much concern from Yuga.

Yuga decided to visit the park on a whim today.

After sending off a challenger, Yuga thought to check on the situation in the small ecological park. Although Brandon usually managed it, Yuga felt it was necessary to show some concern.

It was in the small ecological park that Yuga noticed a Meowth, likely born not long ago.

The reason Yuga noticed this Meowth was due to the bright green glow emanating from it when he instinctively activated his "Insight" ability.

This Meowth was the only high-quality Pokémon among all the offspring of the stray Pokémon.

Seeing the mud-covered Meowth, Yuga decided to give it a bath.

However, bathing a Meowth was no easy task. As soon as Yuga put it in the water, the Meowth let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered, kicking water all over the place.

If Yuga hadn't reacted quickly, the Meowth might have scratched his face.

While Yuga was causing a commotion with the Meowth, he received a phone call from Professor Birch.

Professor Birch called to ask Yuga for a favor.

It turned out that a team of Pokémon researchers from Kanto wanted to visit Petalburg Woods to study the Pokémon ecosystem there, so Professor Birch asked Yuga to host the research team and allow them to stay at the Verdanturf Gym.

Because the research team needed to conduct academic studies and discussions, including meetings and classes, staying in a hotel or a Pokémon Center would be inconvenient.

Professor Birch was especially concerned about this research team because its leader was his junior apprentice.

Professor Birch had once been a student of Professor Oak and had worked as an assistant alongside this team leader under Professor Oak.

Later, Professor Birch became a renowned Pokémon professor in Hoenn, while the team leader joined Professor Oak's research team.

Even though Professor Oak's research lab in Pallet Town has only a few people, as the most famous Pokémon professor in the League (without exception), he has a vast research team elsewhere, with everyone being an elite.

Professor Oak is a well-known Pokémon ecology researcher, and this expedition to Petalburg Woods was organized by his research team for newcomers. Among them was a very important person—Professor Oak's grandson.

Professor Oak personally asked Professor Birch to look after his grandson, but since Professor Birch had to attend Professor Sycamore's academic exchange conference in Kalos and couldn't return to Hoenn, he called Yuga instead.

Around Petalburg Woods, there are four large towns: Oldale Town, Verdanturf Town, Petalburg City, and Rustboro City.

Oldale Town and Littleroot Town are very close to each other, so if Professor Birch were at home, the research team could have stayed at his lab.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Although Petalburg City and Rustboro City are adjacent to Petalburg Woods, their locations are inconvenient for accessing the woods. Entering from these cities would be much more difficult and dangerous for the research team since most of its members are scholars rather than trainers. They may have some strength, but not much.

Therefore, entering Petalburg Woods from Verdanturf Town became the best choice; otherwise, Professor Birch could have asked his friend Mr. Norman for help instead of troubling Yuga.

After ending the call with Professor Birch, Yuga received another call from Masato Shirai, who was calling about the same matter.

Officer Jenny Mae had been transferred from Verdanturf Town back to the headquarters of the Jenny family, and Masato Shirai was now the police chief of Verdanturf Town.

The research team's arrival in Verdanturf Town was set in stone.

Even if Professor Birch hadn't called, as a Gym Leader, Yuga would still have the responsibility and duty to cooperate with the research team's work. Masato Shirai's call was just to inform Yuga of this.

This wasn't much trouble for Yuga. He only needed to provide a place to stay and ensure the research team's safety in Verdanturf Town. The rest had nothing to do with him.

After hanging up Masato Shirai's call, Yuga carried the freshly bathed Meowth to dry it with a towel. As he dried it, he thought of Professor Birch's mention of Professor Oak's grandson.

That grandson should be Gary, right? Yuga wasn't sure if Professor Oak had any other grandsons.

According to the original anime plot, Gary switched to becoming a Pokémon researcher after losing to Ash at the Silver Conference. Now that Ash was even stronger than in the original, Gary must have still lost.

After drying the Meowth with the towel and using a hairdryer to blow dry its fur, Yuga gently rubbed its soft fur and scratched its chin, making the Meowth purr contentedly.

After some thought, Yuga left the gym hall with the Meowth in his arms and informed Brandon of the research team's upcoming visit, instructing him to prepare the guest rooms.

Four days later, the research team arrived at Verdanturf Town as scheduled. Masato Shirai picked them up at the airport and then brought them to Verdanturf Gym.

When the team arrived at the gym, Yuga was in the middle of a gym battle with a challenger, so the team was welcomed by the gym's "head butler," Brandon.

Since the rooms were already prepared, the research team settled in, and Brandon and Masato Shirai accompanied them for a chat in the living room.

Noticing that the Gym Leader hadn't shown up for a long time, Gary asked Brandon, "Is it possible to watch Leader Shimizu's gym battle?"

Gary had heard his grandfather mention Shimizu Yuga's name many times, always with high praise, so he had long wanted to meet this Gym Leader.

Gary had heard a bit about Yuga's achievements, and meeting such a strong individual was an honor for any trainer.

Although Gary now intended to become a Pokémon researcher, that didn't mean he had given up his identity as a trainer. His greatest idol was his grandfather, and he also hoped to one day become like him.

His grandfather, Professor Oak, was not only a titan in the academic world but also a role model for countless trainers.

Many people thought Gary switched to becoming a Pokémon researcher because losing to Ash at the Silver Conference was too embarrassing, but how could that be the case? The stronger Ash became, the more Gary felt challenged.

Because one day, he would become just like his grandfather!

Hearing Gary's request, Brandon smiled slightly and said, "Of course!"

(End of chapter)