Bill, The Son of Pokémon

Early the next morning, Yuga made a trip to the Pokémon Center.

Joyka, who had just started her morning preparations, was surprised to see Yuga and asked, "What brings you here so early?"

Yuga smiled and replied, "I'll be busy with the Duel Tournament soon. If I don't come now, I might not have the time later."

Once the Duel Tournament officially begins, the Pokémon Center will be swamped with work, as all injured Pokémon from the battles will be sent there for treatment. Even if Yuga found the time to visit then, Joyka likely wouldn't have a moment to spare to attend to him.

"Burp~ So, what are you here for exactly?"

Joyka took a sip of Moomoo Milk handed to her by Blissey and burped, smacking her lips before asking. In front of Yuga, she didn't bother to maintain her elegant, gentle Nurse Joy persona.

On a side note, the Pokémon Center's Moomoo Milk was provided by YoYo Day Care.

Trainers staying at the Pokémon Center needed meals, so Yuga often sold leftover ingredients from the Paradise Hotel to the Pokémon Center at a friendly price. After all, Joyka had helped him immensely over the years.

Since the Moomoo Milk produced in Yuga's Ecopark was low-cost, even selling it at a modest price to Joyka still turned a profit.

Yuga pulled out a card and handed it to Joyka, who didn't take it and instead asked in confusion, "What's this?"

"Payment for the medicine," Yuga explained. "You researched and prepared it; I can't let you work for free."

Joyka frowned and pushed the card back toward him, saying, "What kind of person do you take me for? Didn't you give me all those materials without charging a cent?"

"That's not the same," Yuga said. "Wisdom is priceless. You independently developed a unique formula. How can the cost of materials compare to that?"

"But I didn't give you the formula. I just made the medicine for you. The formula is still mine," Joyka said with a shrug.

"Without my materials, your formula wouldn't be of any use," Yuga countered. "Don't worry, it's not much, just a small token of appreciation for your hard work."

"Fine, fine, you win," Joyka said, unable to out-argue Yuga. She reluctantly took the card.

After leaving the Pokémon Center, Yuga headed to the stadium, where Mayor Ishida was already hard at work.

At 7:30 a.m., the Duel Tournament's advancement rounds began.

Following the preliminary rounds, only 100 contestants remained. Since the advancement rounds wouldn't feature multiple simultaneous matches like the preliminaries, they were split into two sessions: morning and afternoon.

Soon, the matchups for the participants were displayed on the large screen in the arena. The host, Vivian, took the microphone and announced from the stage, "Contestants, please take note of your opponents and match order. Get ready!"

At 8:00 a.m., the advancement round's morning session officially began.

The first two contestants to step onto the battlefield were a muscular middle-aged man and a bespectacled teenager.

The muscular man's Pokémon were a Chesnaught and a Passimian, both of which looked extremely robust and matched their Trainer's vibe perfectly.

According to the introductions, this Trainer had traveled all the way from the Kalos region specifically to participate in the Duel Tournament.

After releasing his Pokémon, the man shouted, "Muscles are victory!" and struck a bodybuilding pose. His exaggerated muscles were indeed impressive.

His two Pokémon mimicked his actions, showing off muscles even more exaggerated than their Trainer's.

Compared to the flamboyant entrance of the muscular man, the bespectacled teenager's Pokémon appeared much more unremarkable: two nearly identical Sunflora.

The man's dramatic entry had the audience anticipating a spectacular performance, but the bespectacled teenager struck first. One Sunflora immediately used Sunny Day at lightning speed, while the other unleashed a SolarBeam faster than the eye could follow.

The blindingly powerful SolarBeam swept across the battlefield, striking Chesnaught and Passimian standing side by side. Despite both being Grass-types with resistance to Grass-type moves, they were instantly knocked out.

Although SolarBeam is a Grass-type move, it generates intense heat. When the dazzling beam dissipated, both Chesnaught and Passimian were left charred black.

Even though the man had a rare starter Pokémon like Chesnaught, the battle demonstrated that having a strong Pokémon alone wasn't enough—being a good Trainer mattered just as much.

Seeing this, the audience erupted into boos and jeers at the muscular man, who quickly recalled his Pokémon and fled the scene.

The bespectacled teenager's remarkable performance caught the attention of the judges, including Yuga.

"This boy is quite impressive. Have you heard of him?" Cynthia asked, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

The others all shook their heads.

"From the introductions, it seems he's a local from Hoenn. Have Gym Leader Shimizu hear anything about him?" Caitlin asked curiously.

"Never heard of him," Yuga replied, shaking his head.

All the judges could tell that the muscular man's quick defeat wasn't due to his weakness but rather the teenager's exceptional strength.

"To encounter such an intriguing contestant right in the first match of the advancement round... I'm even more excited about the upcoming battles," Diantha remarked enthusiastically.

The matches continued. Next up were two young women whose performances were excellent, though they didn't leave as strong an impression as the bespectacled teenager.

One of the women appeared to be in her twenties, tall with short hair, exuding a commanding presence. The other was younger, under twenty, with shoulder-length hair and a sweet, delicate appearance.

The commanding woman's Pokémon were a Cradily and a Vileplume. The Vileplume handled the offensive moves, while the Cradily focused on defense, showcasing seamless teamwork.

The sweet-looking girl's Pokémon were a Leavanny and a Serperior. However, her performance didn't quite match up to the commanding woman's. Although she was strong, she narrowly lost by a slim margin.

The matches continued until past 11 a.m., when Ryo and his opponent finally took the stage as the 21st pairing.

Ryo's opponent was a young man in his twenties. Despite being older than Ryo, he was very polite, greeting Ryo warmly upon entering the arena.

The young man's Pokémon were a Tropius and a Roserade, both rare and clearly well-trained. Their condition suggested that the young man came from a wealthy family.

However, despite owning such rare Pokémon, the young man lacked combat experience and often seemed flustered during the battle.

Ryo's Pokémon were a Cacturne and a Bellossom. These two were rewards given to him by Yuga at home, and he had trained them for a long time. Although they weren't quite as strong as his starter Pokémon, Leafeon, their strength was impressive.

During the battle, the young man's Tropius focused solely on defense and healing, leaving all the attacking to Roserade. Roserade, on the other hand, concentrated entirely on offense, neglecting to cover for Tropius when it was under attack.

While the young man's strategy of assigning roles to his Pokémon was sound, he failed to adapt during the fight. For instance, while support Pokémon are primarily meant to assist, they must step up and attack when necessary.

Thus, despite their respectable levels, the young man's Pokémon suffered a devastating loss. Yuga suspected that the young man had likely relied solely on their high levels to scrape through the preliminaries.

After the 25th match concluded, the morning session of the advancement round officially ended.

During the lunch break, everyone left the stadium to eat. Yuga was no exception.

After saying goodbye to Diantha, Caitlin, and Cynthia, Yuga walked out of the stadium, planning to head home for lunch.

However, he hadn't gone far when he spotted the bespectacled teenager from the first match standing nearby, looking around anxiously.

Curious, Yuga approached him and asked, "What's wrong? Do you need help?"

As one of the tournament's judges, Yuga was easily recognized by the boy, who stammered nervously, "I… I'm lost… lost…"

The boy's tone struck Yuga as odd. During the match, he had spoken fluently while commanding his Pokémon, but now he seemed uncomfortable with speaking.

Noticing how distressed the boy was, Yuga offered, "Where are you trying to go? I can take you there."

The boy stammered again, "Looking… for… Mr. Scott… looking…"

So he really had trouble speaking! Yuga confirmed his suspicion. Wait—Scott? Could it be that Scott?

The Scott Yuga knew was the head of Hoenn's Battle Frontier, famous for scouting talented Trainers to join the facility. If this boy had any connection to Scott, everything would make sense.

"Where did you come from?" Yuga asked.

The boy's match had ended early in the morning, so he'd clearly been wandering around for some time.

With his poor sense of direction and difficulty speaking, it took a long time for the boy to explain how he had ended up here.

Fortunately, Yuga had lived in Verdanturf Town for many years and knew the area like the back of his hand. With his guidance, they eventually found their way back.

Sure enough, the Scott the boy had mentioned was the same Scott Yuga knew.

Upon seeing the boy return, the round and cheerful man beamed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness! Where did you go? You scared me half to death! I only stepped away to buy something, and you disappeared in the blink of an eye! Didn't I tell you not to wander off?"

The chubby man kept rambling on, wiping sweat from his forehead. Judging by his soaked face, it was evident he had been running around frantically. It must've been exhausting, especially for someone of his build.

The boy pointed at Yuga and stammered, "He… helped…"

Only then did Scott notice Yuga standing nearby. Surprised for a moment, Scott quickly smiled and said, "Isn't this Gym Leader Shimizu? Thank you for helping Bill." He then pulled out a handkerchief to dab at his sweat.

Yuga already knew the boy's name was Bill.

Smiling, Yuga replied, "I didn't expect you, Mr. Scott, to visit Verdanturf Town. If I had known earlier, I would have extended a proper welcome."

Waving a hand dismissively, Scott said, "I'm just bringing Bill here to broaden his horizons."

Turning to Bill, Yuga asked, "Where did you find such a promising talent? I hadn't heard anything about him before."

At that moment, Bill was engrossed in eating a bag of chips that Scott had bought for him. The mention of his name drew little reaction—he simply glanced at Yuga before focusing back on his snack.

It was evident that Bill's mental state wasn't as mature as his physical age suggested.

Scott cast Bill a complex look before sighing deeply. "It was sheer coincidence. I found this kid in the mountains. He's had a tough life."

As it turned out, Scott had discovered Bill during a field expedition in a dense forest. At the time, the boy was clad in nothing but a grass skirt and was living among a group of Sunflora.

Raised by Sunflora, Bill had no knowledge of his parents or even his identity.

Feeling sorry for the boy, Scott decided to take him in. However, the Sunflora who had raised Bill were reluctant to let him go, so they sent two of their kin to accompany and protect him.

Knowing Bill was human and couldn't live with them forever, the Sunflora insisted on entrusting him to Scott despite Bill's reluctance to leave his adoptive family.

The name "Bill" was given to him by Scott after they left the forest.

Later, Scott discovers Bill's extraordinary affinity for grass-type Pokémon. He began teaching Bill human knowledge while also training him to become a Trainer.

Bill exceeded expectations, quickly surpassing most of the young Trainers cultivated within the Battle Frontier.

Scott invested significant resources into nurturing Bill, who now functioned as his adopted son, with Scott serving as his legal guardian.

When Scott heard about Verdanturf Town's Grass-type Pokémon Duel Tournament, he rushed to enroll Bill. True to form, Bill made a sensational debut on the battlefield.

Though Bill struggled with fluent speech, he spoke effortlessly about Pokémon moves and strategies, making his performance on the field vastly different from his demeanor off it.

Offstage, Bill exuded an endearing naivety.

Hearing Bill's story, Yuga was amazed. A child raised by wild Pokémon—it was an incredible tale!

While similar cases had occurred before, akin to the "feral children" from Yuga's past life, such phenomena were rare and rarely encountered in person.

Noticing Yuga's gaze, Bill instinctively looked up at him. However, the boy's glasses obscured any clear view of his expression.

Bill's glasses weren't for vision correction; he wore them to alleviate the anxiety of facing crowds.

Scott also explained that Bill wasn't genuinely directionally challenged. Having lived in the forest for so long, he was simply unaccustomed to human environments. With time, he would likely adapt.

In the forest, Bill's sense of direction was unparalleled—no matter where he wandered, he could always find his way home.

Out of gratitude for Yuga's assistance, Scott invited him to lunch, using the opportunity to strengthen their rapport. However, Yuga politely declined, as Audino at home had likely already prepared a meal.

Audino's culinary masterpieces were not to be missed.

Perceptive as ever, Scott caught on to Yuga's reluctance and didn't press the issue. After exchanging pleasantries, he cheerfully said his goodbyes and drove off in his flashy convertible with Bill in tow.