I'm the Owner of the Pokémon Day Care In the World of Pokémon

Chapter 1330: Shoryu's Task

After returning from the Nido clan territory, Yuga headed to the Pokémon Center to find Joyka. Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since he last visited Verdanturf Town's Pokémon Center.

At this time, the Pokémon Center wasn't very busy; only a few people were scattered around the lobby. When Joyka saw Yuga walk in, she was surprised and teased, "Well, well, how does the big busy man have time to come to my humble place?"

As the Gym Leader of Verdanturf Town, Yuga's every move was under the watchful eyes of local Trainers. So when he returned to town, Joyka was already aware.

However, Yuga had spent over ten days at home, barely stepping out of his doors. Because of this, Joyka hadn't seen him at all during that time.

Yuga chuckled, "Just been busy with random things. I came today because I have something to discuss with you."

Joyka casually asked, "What is it that requires the great boss himself to make the trip?"

Yuga lowered his voice, "Let's talk inside."

Feigning surprise, Joyka remarked, "What's so secretive that it can't be said out here? Or... could it be you have some unspeakable intentions? Let me tell you, I'm not that kind of girl!" She hugged her arms dramatically, pretending to look "frightened."

Yuga knocked on the table and said, "Be serious. I have real business to discuss. Acting like this isn't very fitting for a respectable Nurse Joy."

"Fine," Joy karelented, tidying up the items on her desk before saying, "Follow me." She then led Yuga to her usual meeting room for guests.

"Alright, spill it. What's so confidential?" she asked, her playful demeanor finally giving way to a serious expression once they were both seated.

Yuga explained the situation, asking her to produce Max Revive in exchange for Revival Herbs as compensation.

After hearing him out, Joyka was genuinely shocked. "Where are you even getting so many Revival Herbs?" It was no wonder Yuga didn't want to discuss this in the open—such a thing could easily spark envy and greed.

"That's not your concern. Just let me know if you're willing to do it. If not, I'll find someone else," Yuga said nonchalantly, crossing one leg over the other.

"Don't be like that! With our relationship, how could you even think of giving such a great opportunity to someone else? You wouldn't trust them like you trust me!" Joyka quickly said, her expression turning fawning.

"Alright, then it's settled. I'll fill you in on the details later," Yuga replied, confident that she would agree. Only a fool would refuse such a lucrative offer.

After finalizing the agreement, Yuga stayed to chat with Joyka for a while before leaving.

When he got home, Yuga suddenly received a phone call. Taking out his communicator, he saw that it was from Director Monde—or perhaps he should now call him Boss Monde.

Monde used to be the director of the Lavaridge Town Breeding Center. However, after the center was shut down by the League due to poor management, Director Monde had been reassigned to another location.

After serving as the director in Lavaridge Town for a long time, Director Monde found himself feeling constrained when he was reassigned to a breeding center in another city. Eventually, he resigned from his position and decided to open a private Pokémon Day Care of his own.

Although working under the League provided job security, Director Monde felt that being his own boss was far more liberating. He was no longer young, had some savings, and was tired of constantly dealing with the whims of others.

Interestingly, Monde's new Pokémon Day Care was neither in Lavaridge Town, where he used to work, nor in the city to which he was later reassigned. Instead, he chose to set it up in Rustboro City, which wasn't far from Verdanturf Town.

Rustboro City, being a bustling metropolis, was an excellent location for opening a daycare center.

When Monde learned that YoYo Day Care had partnerships with numerous small Pokémon Day Care, he reached out to him proactively, hoping to establish a supply agreement with them.

YoYo Day Care had an outstanding reputation in the industry, with guaranteed high potential Pokémon. For Monde, who had just started his Pokémon Day Care, gaining YoYo Day Care's support would ensure a strong initial step toward success.

However, YoYo Day Care was highly selective about its partners. Only reputable and well-established Pokémon Day Care could collaborate with them. For new Pokémon Day Care, partnerships were generally off the table.

Monde, though, was an exception. Back when Yuga's parents were still alive, Monde had been very supportive of YoYo Day Care. Even after Yuga arrived in this world, Monde had extended a great deal of help to him.

Because of this, Yuga decided to make an exception and agreed to the collaboration. If nothing else, Yuga trusted Monde's character implicitly, having known him for so long.

The partnership had only been finalized during Yuga's recent days back in town. Since Yuga had been preoccupied with matters concerning the island ecopark, it was Suzuki Koen who had handled this deal.

When Yuga answered the call, he was surprised and said, "You've already arrived at Verdanturf Town's station? Alright, I understand. I'll arrange for someone to pick you up right away."

Although Monde had been interacting with YoYo Day Care for quite some time, he hadn't visited Verdanturf Town often. Yuga was worried he might have trouble finding the place.

After all, Verdanturf Town was nothing like it used to be. The once-rustic little town was now filled with tall buildings and bustling traffic, completely transformed from its former rural charm.

At this rate, Verdanturf Town might even be renamed Verdanturf City in a few years.

After hanging up the communicator, Yuga noticed Kano younger brother, Shuuya, walking in. He called out, "Hey, Shuuya, are you busy right now? If you're free, could you go to the station to pick someone up for me?"

"I'm free! Who am I picking up?" Shuuya replied eagerly, running over.

Yuga quickly sent Monde's photo and communicator number to Shuuya.

"Don't worry, boss! I'll definitely bring him back safe and sound!" With that, Shuuya dashed out the door.

About half an hour later, Shuuya returned with Monde in tow. They had arrived on a Tauros.

As Monde stepped inside, he marveled, "It's been ages since I last came to Verdanturf Town. The changes are incredible—I almost thought I'd come to the wrong place."

Yuga chuckled and replied, "Verdanturf Town has indeed developed a lot over the past few years."

He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Being the town's Gym Leader had allowed him to contribute to its growth. Looking back, he realized his time in this world hadn't been wasted. While he hadn't accomplished anything earth-shattering, he'd visibly improved the quality of life for Verdanturf Town's residents.

Monde, however, thought to himself that it wasn't just Verdanturf Town that had flourished—YoYo Day Care had too.

When the Shimizu couple passed away, Monde had feared the small Pokémon Day Care might not survive. Who would have guessed it would now be an industry leader? Truly, fortunes could change dramatically over time.

Once they were seated in the reception room, Yuga apologized, "I'm really sorry for the delay. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to oversee our collaboration."

Monde waved it off. "It's fine; I understand. Your responsibilities must be immense now."

"Well, let's get down to business. From what I understand, the collaboration details have already been worked out with Suzuki Koen. There shouldn't be any major issues left—just the contract signing," Yuga said as Suzuki Koen entered the room with the prepared documents.

"The contracts are ready. Take a look, and if everything's in order, you can sign them," Yuga said, spreading several contracts on the table and pushing them toward Monde.

The contracts had been prepared in advance by Suzuki Koen and didn't take much time to finalize. YoYo Day Care had partnered with many other Pokémon Day Care, and the terms were largely standardized, except for a few specific details.

Monde hadn't come alone. Knowing the purpose of his visit was to sign the contracts, he'd brought along a lawyer. After carefully reviewing the documents, they confirmed everything was in order, and Monde signed without hesitation.

"Well then, here's to a successful partnership," Yuga said, standing up and extending his hand.

Monde shook it firmly and replied, "Here's to a fruitful collaboration. Thank you so much for this opportunity."

Since the two were familiar with each other, the process went smoothly. Afterward, Yuga asked Shuuya to escort Monde to the Paradise Hotel for his stay.

Yuga, meanwhile, needed to prepare the Pokémon eggs and Pokémon that Monde would be taking back with him.

Aside from signing the contract, Monde's visit this time was also to bring back the Pokémon and Pokémon eggs needed for his Pokémon Day Care's opening in Rustboro City. Now, everything was in place—he just needed this final step.

After seeing Monde off at the door, Yuga was about to return to the shop when he suddenly heard an argument nearby. Following the noise, he found Smoochum tugging on Spoink's magical cloak while Clefairy and Mime Jr. were bickering loudly.

"Hey, hey! What's going on here? Why are you all fighting?" Yuga scolded as he walked over, clearly annoyed.

As soon as Spoink saw Yuga, it rushed over, squealing complaints.

It turned out that Smoochum had taken a liking to the magical cloak Spoink was wearing and wanted to snatch it away. However, the cloak was Spoink's favorite item, and there was no way it would willingly give it up. The disagreement escalated, and Smoochum even tried to grab it by force.

This magical cloak was a piece of merchandise from the once-popular magical girl show "Magical Girl and Spoink". Yuga had specially bought it for Spoink, and it was now nearly impossible to find another one, So, Spoink treasured it deeply.

Although Spoink could easily overpower Smoochum—given Smoochum's pitiful level of strength—it refrained from retaliating because Yuga had strictly forbidden unnecessary fighting. But Smoochum, emboldened by this restraint, had pushed its luck.

After understanding the situation, Yuga frowned and sternly said to Smoochum, "Smoochum, how could you just try to take Spoink's belongings?"

"Smoochum~!"

What if I did? So what?!

Smoochum retorted, planting its stubby hands on its rounded hips.

"Well, look at you! Got quite the attitude, haven't you?" Yuga said, half amused and half exasperated. Clearly, this little one had spent too much time in the wild, where grabbing things it wanted was second nature—a habit that needed correcting.

Scooping up Smoochum, Yuga turned to Spoink and said, "Come with me!"

Clefairy and Mime Jr., seeing that Smoochum had gotten on Yuga's bad side, quickly followed. As its friends, they couldn't just abandon Smoochum in its time of need.

Yuga carried Smoochum to the Gym while it tried to struggle free. However, one sharp glare from Yuga was enough to make it stop squirming.

At the Gym's training ground, Yuga put Smoochum down and said to Spoink, "Spoink, teach it a lesson. Let's see if it stays this cocky after that!"

Hearing Yuga's words, Spoink's eyes lit up—finally, it could act! Carefully and meticulously, it removed the magical cloak, handing it to Yuga for safekeeping. Then, with a bounce, it hopped into the center of the field, beckoning Smoochum with a wave.

Smoochum thought to itself, Fine, if we're going to fight, let's fight! Like I'm afraid of you!

With that thought, Smoochum immediately used Confusion on Spoink. However, the psychic energy it directed at Spoink vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

A flash of light shimmered across Spoink's body, effortlessly repelling Smoochum's Confusion. Before Smoochum could react further, Spoink's Psychic energy enveloped it, freezing Smoochum in place.

"Smoochum! Smoochum~!"

Unable to move, Smoochum could only cry out loudly. It was only now that it realized the vast gap in strength between itself and Spoink.

Although Spoink hadn't evolved, it was a special Pokémon created through human experimentation. Its Psychic power was far superior to others of its kind. For Smoochum, who was barely Level 30, defeating Spoink was simply impossible.

With Smoochum being restrained, Spoink smugly strutted over and patted Smoochum on the head, as if to say, Still think you're tough now, huh?

The pat left Smoochum's carefully styled hair a complete mess, which only made it angrier.

At that moment, Shoryu returned from school. Yuga called out to him, "Shoryu, come here."

Shoryu, accompanied by his Gastly, ran over and asked curiously, "Gym Leader, what's up?"

Yuga pointed at Smoochum and said, "I've got a special task for you. This Smoochum has been disobedient, so I need you to discipline it. If you succeed, I'll give you a reward."

Yuga had been thinking that while the other gym apprentices had all received Pokémon rewards from him, Shoryu hadn't. He hadn't even gotten the standard Pokémon allocated to gym apprentices by the League. This was the perfect opportunity to give him one.

Shoryu had a natural affinity for Ghost-type Pokémon, which was why Gastly had willingly chosen to follow him. Yuga decided to reward him with another Ghost-type Pokémon.

Shoryu's eyes lit up upon hearing Yuga's words. "Really?"

"Really," Yuga confirmed with a nod.

"Awesome!" Shoryu cheered, thumping his chest confidently. "Don't worry, Gym Leader, I'll get the job done!"

At Yuga's signal, Spoink released Smoochum. Realizing something was off, Smoochum immediately tried to flee but found itself unable to move again.

Gastly had used Mean Look.

Clefairy and Mime Jr. exchanged glances, unsure whether they should step in to plead for Smoochum.

While they hesitated, Shoryu had already picked up the immobilized Smoochum and pressed his cheek against its face. The cold touch was quite soothing.

"Smoochum is so cute!"

(╬Д) Don't come near me! Smoochum internally screamed, furiously resisting Shoryu's touch in its heart.

In some ways, Smoochum shared the same nitpicky temperament as a Ninetales.

And so, the matter was happily settled. Despite its unwilling expression, Smoochum was carried off by an elated Shoryu.