That night after returning home, Yuga had his first good night's sleep in a long while. The next morning, as the warm sunlight streamed into the room, Yuga slowly opened his eyes.
Springtime in Verdanturf Town was very warm. As Yuga sat up in bed, he discovered that Gothita had somehow crawled up to his pillow and fallen asleep there, while its little companion Cubchoo was snoring soundly on the floor beside the bed.
Not wanting to wake them up, Yuga quietly got out of bed, opened the window, took in a breath of fresh air, and stepped out of the room.
Now, the kitchen, living room, dining area, and other common spaces of YoYo Day Care were all located on the fourth floor. After washing up, Yuga headed to the dining area, where he found Ninetales, Nana, and the others already seated around the table, while Duoduo was busy setting breakfast on the table.
Litten, as always, clung tightly to Ninetales. Ninetales didn't seem the least bit bothered and gently placed it on its chair, letting it sit side by side with itself.
"Audino~"
Come sit down!
Seeing Yuga approaching, Duoduo cheerfully called him over and placed his breakfast in front of him.
Yuga took a sip of honey milk and a bite of the special bread, then gave Duoduo a thumbs-up. After spending a few days in the Ultra Space, getting to taste Duoduo's cooking again made Yuga feel as if his taste buds were dancing.
After breakfast, the YoYo Day Care began another busy day. Customers came and went, filling the place with lively chatter. Ayaka, Chiyuki, and Kobayashi were so busy they could hardly catch their breath.
But as for Yuga, the boss, he didn't have much to do. Since he wasn't going over to Misaki and Lain's place to practice making Pokéblocks or incense today, he decided to take advantage of the calm and wander leisurely around the store.
Just as he was walking an old customer to the door, Yuga suddenly saw a luxurious car pull up in front of the YoYo Day Care. A moment later, Robert, wearing sunglasses, stepped out of the car.
"Good morning, Yuga!" Robert greeted with a graceful smile, causing a passing young girl to blush from head to toe.
"Robert?" Yuga exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here? When did you arrive in Verdanturf Town?"
"I came straight to see you the moment I arrived," Robert replied, closing the car door and walking over to Yuga. "Are you busy? If not, want to go out and have some fun?"
"Go out and have fun?" Yuga asked, puzzled.
"Yes, to see the flowers," Robert answered.
It turned out that the League had recently built a park on the west side of Verdanturf Town, planting countless flowers that made the park breathtakingly beautiful. Many local residents and tourists would go in small groups to enjoy the blossoms and have picnics.
Yuga hadn't heard anything about this, since it had mainly been organized by Mayor Ishida. If Robert hadn't mentioned it today, he might've remained completely unaware of the park's existence, having just returned.
In fact, this park was one of the projects involved in Verdanturf City's urban development.
Robert had recently been on vacation, and after learning that Verdanturf Town had a new park, he decided to come find Yuga and hang out together.
Robert hadn't participated in any Pokémon Contests for quite a while. According to his mentor, Mr. Juan, Robert needed a period of introspection and accumulation. Once he had built up enough experience, he would be able to aim for the same level as Wallace.
With free time on his hands, Robert had become an assistant to his Champion senior. After a hectic period, he was finally granted a few days of leave—thus the reason for today's visit to Verdanturf.
"Sure, let's go," Yuga agreed.
Since it was rare for Robert to visit and Yuga didn't have anything urgent to attend to, a little outing sounded like a good idea.
But if they were going flower viewing and having a picnic, they would need to prepare a few things.
Once Yuga told Duoduo about their plan, Duoduo immediately got to work "in full gear" preparing everything, while Yuga and Robert assisted from the sidelines.
But Robert, being a pampered gentleman, wasn't used to doing chores and ended up being more of a hindrance than a help. Yuga nearly kicked him out of the kitchen.
After a busy morning, Duoduo had prepared a wide variety of delicious food, and the group finally set out for the newly built park.
In addition to Yuga and Robert, the flower-viewing trip also included Yuga's main Pokémon team, Duoduo, Nana, Ninetales, Litten, Gothita, Cubchoo, Mr. Mime, Clefairy, and Jynx, among many others.
Originally, Yuga hadn't planned to bring along Gothita, Cubchoo, Mr. Mime, and the others. But when it was time to leave, Gothita somehow found out. It rode on Cubchoo and insisted on coming along no matter what. If Yuga didn't bring it, it said it would go on its own, so Yuga had no choice but to agree to bring it.
After all that fuss, Mr. Mme, Clefairy, and Jynx also expressed their desire to go. Yuga thought to himself, "Since I'm already taking Gothita and Cubchoo, it won't make a difference to bring a few more."
And so, a long line of tag-alongs formed.
The newly built park covered a massive area. Even the front gate was especially grand—entirely woven from green vines, clearly the handiwork of a Grass-type Pokémon.
As soon as Yuga stepped through the entrance, he saw a sea of blue flowers. Each tiny blue bloom swayed in the wind, releasing a refreshing and delicate fragrance that was utterly soothing.
Although this flower species was quite common, it had the advantages of being very resilient, having a long blooming period, and emitting a light, elegant scent. Because of these traits, it was a popular choice in urban landscaping.
The flower field was also home to numerous beautiful Beautifly and Vivillon, freely fluttering about. Every now and then, tourists would rush over to take photos with the Beautifly or Vivillon.
If not for today's trip and learning about the park, Yuga wouldn't have known that all these Beautifly and Vivillon had come from YoYo Day Care, personally purchased from Aunt Hisako by Mayor Ishida.
After walking through the long flower field, Yuga and the group arrived at a lakeside area. The lake was filled with a large number of white water lilies. Under the sunlight, the water lily blossoms refracted specks of sparkling light—stunningly beautiful.
There was an information board by the lake that provided details about the water lilies. It said that this particular species had been revived from ancient plant fossils by the Paleo-Botanical Research Institute. Currently, this park in Verdanturf Town was the only public site cultivating them.
Besides housing some common Water-type Pokémon, the lake was also home to a small number of ancient Relicanth, which were considered living fossils. This attracted quite a few visitors who came specifically to observe the Pokémon.
In addition, many tourists had already spread picnic blankets near the lake to enjoy food and flower-viewing, creating a very lively atmosphere.
Yuga also spotted two familiar figures by the lakeside—Kerry and her younger brother.
Since Kerry had joined the Verdanturf Town Distribution Department, his younger brother had settled down with his sister in Verdanturf Town as well. The siblings were probably taking this chance to relax during their time off.
The moment they entered the park, Gothita happily rode Cubchoo off at full speed, their laughter ringing out crisply among the flower fields. Some other visitors' Pokémon even started running after them.
Florges loved the environment here the most. She basked in the sun while surrounded by a group of Grass-type Pokémon, all enjoying the floral fragrance.
Duoduo, Ninetales, and Nana stayed calmly behind Yuga, though their mood was clearly relaxed and content as well.
Yuga and Robert took a stroll around the park, and when they saw it was nearing lunchtime, they picked a cherry blossom grove. With Duoduo's help, they spread out picnic blankets on the grassy ground under the trees.
It was peak cherry blossom season, and this grove was awash in shades of pink. Many people had come to admire the flowers and take photos. Just like Yuga and his group, quite a few were picnicking here too.
As soon as Duoduo called out that it was time to eat, Gothita and Cubchoo came rushing back, and Florges returned with her Grass-types in tow.
"I'll be freeloading a meal off you today!" Robert said cheerfully as he released his own Pokémon.
Today, Yuga had prepared top-grade Pokéblocks for the Pokémon. Even Robert's team wouldn't normally get to enjoy such high-quality treats on a daily basis, which was why he called it "freeloading."
After taking a bite of the sandwich Duoduo had made, Robert squinted his eyes in bliss. "This is just too delicious. Yuga, I'm really jealous of you!"
Having a Pokémon that's amazing at cooking—it was pure happiness!
"Try this too."
Yuga pushed a box full of fruit toward Robert.
"These are Nimora Chesto Berries."
As a type of berry, the Nimora Chesto Berry doesn't hold much medicinal value, but its taste is exceptionally good. Yuga particularly likes this fruit, so he planted quite a lot of it in the Ecopark.
Robert ate one, and sure enough, just like Yuga, he fell in love with the taste of the fruit. In no time at all, he had eaten more than half the box.
Fortunately, Duoduo had prepared plenty. Not only did Yuga and Robert have enough, but the Pokémon also had their share.
After finishing their Pokeblock, each Pokémon was given five or six Nimora Chesto Berries.
The common Chesto Berry is highly favored by Ice-type Pokémon, and the Nimora Chesto Berry is no exception. Therefore, Cubchoo loved this fruit the most and finished it in just a few bites.
Still craving more, Cubchoo looked around and noticed that Litten was staring at the fruit but hadn't taken a bite yet, so it quietly scooted over.
Seeing that Litten hadn't noticed it, Cubchoo stealthily reached out its paw. However, just as it was pulling back with a Nimora Chesto Berry in hand, another paw pressed down on it.
Cubchoo looked up and saw Ninetales staring down at it.
Immediately, Cubchoo dropped the Nimora Chesto Berry and shyly retracted its paw.
However, Litten thought for a moment and then pushed the few Nimora Chesto Berries in front of it toward Cubchoo. As a Fire-type Pokémon, it wasn't particularly fond of Chesto Berries.
Seeing this, Chesto looked at Litten in surprise, then gave a grateful paw salute and quickly ran off clutching the few Nimora Chesto Berries.
Ninetales shook its head helplessly but didn't say anything more and continued eating its own Nimora Chesto Berries.
In fact, Ninetales wasn't especially fond of the taste of the Nimora Chesto Berry either. But since everyone else was eating it, and Yuga was enjoying it with such enthusiasm, it figured there was no harm in trying some too.
After lunch, Robert lay on the grass, rubbing his full belly and sighing with contentment. "This is just so relaxing!"
"It really is!"
Yuga lay beside Robert and let out a satisfied burp before speaking.
The warm sunshine made them drowsy, and before they knew it, both Yuga and Robert had fallen asleep, while their Pokémon played nearby.
Ninetales didn't join the other Pokémon in playing but instead lay near Yuga, basking in the sun. Litten lay sprawled across its tails.
Just then, a ball suddenly dropped from the sky and landed squarely on Litten's head, startling it so much that it leapt up in alarm.
Soon after, a Vulpix came huffing and puffing as it ran over, apologizing profusely to Litten. However, Litten was shy around strangers and was so frightened by Vulpix that it hid behind Ninetales.
Cubch Bear, who was playing tag with Gothita nearby, saw what was happening and mistakenly thought Vulpix was bullying Litten. It immediately dashed over and stood protectively in front of Litten, blocking Vulpix from getting any closer.
Out of gratitude for Litten having given it the Nimora Chesto Berries earlier, Cubchoo was absolutely unwilling to let it be bullied by another Pokémon—even if the two of them weren't really close at all.
Vulpix wanted to explain, but Cubchoo wouldn't listen. It gave Vulpix a shove, and Vulpix landed right on its rear, sitting on the ground with teary eyes, looking extremely wronged.
At that moment, Gothita also ran over. Of course, it stood unconditionally on the side of its little buddy. With its hands on its hips, it "fiercely" glared at Vulpix, wearing an expression that clearly said, "You're the one who bullied my friend!"
In reality, its angry glare looked extremely cute.
While Vulpix looked all pitiful and wronged, a cute little girl came running over with a Ninetales.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Did our ball just hit you guys?"
As soon as the little girl arrived, she kept apologizing non-stop. She was Vulpix's trainer.
However, the moment the Ninetales beside the little girl approached, Yuga's Ninetales suddenly opened its eyes and slowly raised its head to look at the little girl's Ninetales.
The little girl's Ninetales also stared straight at Yuga's Ninetales, its gaze full of wariness, and it instinctively backed away by two steps.
Even though the little girl kept apologizing over and over, Gothita still wouldn't let it go. One hand on its hip, the other pointing at the little girl's Vulpix, it chattered away angrily. Although the little girl couldn't understand a single word, she still kept apologizing without stopping.
"All right, let them leave."
At this moment, Yuga's Ninetales suddenly spoke up. Gothita had no choice but to shut its mouth and let the little girl take her Vulpix and leave.
This incident was just a minor episode and didn't affect the relaxing and enjoyable day Yuga and the others were having.
By the time evening came, Yuga and the group finally packed up and headed home.
On the way home, Ninetales and Yuga happened to chat about the little girl and the Ninetales by her side.
"Today I saw a little girl."
At first, Yuga didn't think much of it: "There are lots of little girls in the park. It'd be strange if you didn't see any!"
Ninetales continued, "She had one of my kind with her. That same kind was emitting a very powerful and unusual wave of psychic energy."
Now Yuga was surprised. Ninetales was a level 100 Pokémon—if it described someone as "powerful," then that Pokémon was truly extraordinary.
"Could it be that a strong Trainer has recently arrived in Verdanturf Town?"
Ninetales shook its head. "That I don't know." Besides Yuga, no other Trainer had ever been worth its attention.
"All right then, I'll look into it later."
As the Gym Trainer of Verdanturf Town, Yuga had the responsibility to investigate the appearance of any unknown Trainers within Verdanturf Town, in case they posed a threat to the town's public safety.