Departure

Having made up his mind, Yuga decided to go through with his plan.

So, Yuga said to Suzuki Koen, "I'll be leaving for a while tomorrow, not sure when I'll be back. I'm entrusting the matters of the shop to you."

Upon hearing that Yuga was going away, Suzuki Koen quickly responded, "But we're almost out of Pokémon eggs in the shop. What should I do while you're gone?"

After thinking for a moment, Yuga replied, "I'll call the Day Care Center and have them send over a batch of Pokémon eggs. When they arrive, make sure to receive them."

Suzuki Koen nodded and said, "Alright, I understand."

The negotiation with the Day Care Center went smoothly, and Director Mond readily agreed to deliver the requested goods to Yuga "YoYo Day Care."

Yuga order this time wasn't extensive; he only requested 50 eggs, half of what he had ordered previously. The quality remained the same, all of them being yellow eggs.

The reason Yuga chose to reduce the quantity of eggs ordered was because he had a new idea. He wanted to change the operational model of the Day Care, but whether this idea would succeed depended on the outcome of Yuga journey to the Great Desert.

For this supply run, Yuga didn't personally go to Lavaridge Town as he did last time. He had become acquainted with Director Mond after the recent interactions, and he believed Director Mond wouldn't deceive him.

Preparing for the journey required a lot of things, so Yuga didn't have much idle time. He had to prepare items like a tent, sleeping bag, water, food, and more.

Speaking of food, Yuga had emergency provisions—the Trainer Store.

It had been over ten days since the system update. The Trainer Store refreshed daily with one chance to exchange items. It had yielded a green item this time: the Friend Ball, a special Poké Ball. Otherwise, it usually offered red and white Poké Balls and Berries.

Being the first non-white item to appear, Yuga boldly used up all five chances to exchange for the Friend Ball, a special Poké Ball that wasn't cheap—it cost 10,000 League Coins.

It was worth noting that ordinary red and white Poké Balls were only 500 League Coins, while Super Balls were 1,000, and Ultra Balls were 5,000.

The manufacturing processes for standard Poké Balls, Super Balls, and Ultra Balls were all industrial and mass-produced. In contrast, special Poké Balls like the Friend Ball were handcrafted using Apricorns, which explained the price difference.

The Berries that appeared in the Trainer Store daily were all reasonably priced and common varieties. Most of them could be consumed by both Pokémon and humans.

If Yuga ran out of water and food in the desert, these Berries could quench his thirst and stave off hunger.

Moreover, there were no limits to how many Berries he could exchange for, as long as his account had enough money. This was probably the most reassuring aspect of the Trainer Store for Yuga at the moment.

Nevertheless, Yuga still needed to bring food and water. He wasn't sure how long he would be away this time, and surviving solely on Berries wouldn't be sustainable for him.

Yuga even went as far as to pack a pot and some seasoning in his system backpack. If necessary, he could use them to cook something, like noodles...

Yuga couldn't help but feel that he wasn't so much going on an adventure as going on a leisure trip.

Before setting off, Yuga made sure to brief his Miltank. He instructed them to take good care of the baby Pokémon and to continue their daily training.

As for the Miltank as well as Vulpix, Murkrow, and Houndour Pokéblocks, Yuga had them all prepared and stored in the warehouse. The Miltank would be responsible for feeding Vulpix and the others every day.

The Miltank couldn't rely solely on the grass in the Ecopark for their food. Essential Pokéblocks were also necessary to prevent nutritional imbalances.

Yuga wasn't worried that the Pokémon would go hungry, after all, there was also a Berry grove in the Ecopark.

The next day, after Yuga got up and finished his morning routine, he habitually checked the Trainer Store in the system. To his surprise, he found something extraordinary.

On the four-by-four grid, a bright blue frame immediately caught Yuga attention.

Yuga hadn't expected to have such luck today. He had stumbled upon an extremely rare blue item—the Basic Quality Evolution Potion.

This item had been rewarded by the system before and was used by Yuga on Floette. As a result, Floette quality evolved from yellow to green.

Without hesitation, Yuga exchanged for it.

The Basic Quality Evolution Potion was a special item not found in the Pokémon world, and it was quite expensive. Yuga spent 30,000 League Coins on it.

Yuga had realized from white items that even items of the same quality had different prices. For instance, regular red and white Poké Balls were both 500 League Coins, but the same-color Berries, also white items, could be bought in bundles for the same amount.

Most of the system pricing was based on the price level in the Pokémon world, not solely on rarity, although rarer items were generally more valuable, with a few exceptions.

Yuga currently owned Pokémon that could use this Basic Quality Evolution Potion was Chimecho. He immediately had Chimecho use it once they were in the Ecopark. As a result, Chimecho quality smoothly changed from yellow to green.

...

<<Chimecho>>

Type: Psychic

Gender: Female

Ability: Levitate

Quality: Green

Level: 25

Moves: Confusion, Gravity, Heal Pulse, Healing Bell.

...

Not only did Chimecho quality change, but she also learned her first attacking move through this period of continuous training.

During this time, Yuga Pokémon had all gained several levels through non-stop training. Not only had Chimecho reached level 25, but Floette had successfully reached level 30, Absol reached level 35, and Vivilion reached level 28.

This time, Yuga was bringing only these four Pokémon with him on the journey.

After setting off, Yuga boarded the vehicle headed to Mauville City.

Yuga hadn't intended to enter Hoenn Desert from either Verdanturf Town or Lavaridge Town.

Both Verdanturf Town and Lavaridge Town were situated at the northern edge of Hoenn Desert, close to its northern end.

Yuga wanted to venture deep into the heart of Hoenn Desert, and the best entry point was to go to Mauville City and then take Route 111. Finally, he would enter Hoenn Desert from Route 111.

Since Route 111 crossed Hoenn Desert from side to side, it neatly divided the desert into northern and southern parts.

Route 111 was a long highway, connecting Route 110 and Route 109 at Fortree City and Mauville City, running straight across the entire Hoenn region from east to west.

Sitting on the vehicle, watching the scenery receding behind him, Yuga found it quite fascinating.

Having been in the Pokémon world for so long, this was Yuga first time riding such a long-distance public train.

The train wasn't just filled with people but also various kinds of Pokémon.

Of course, only small-sized Pokémon were allowed on the train; larger ones weren't permitted.