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

Chapter 1116: Strange challengers

Since the membership card had already been given out, Yuga naturally had no reason to stop Cheren from using it. So, he said.

"Alright then, I'll bring out a few Pokémon for you to see. Let me know if they suit your preferences. You're looking for Normal-types, right?"

Cheren nodded and replied, "Yes!"

So, Yuga led him to the hall of the gym and called Beidou to entertain him for a while. Then, Yuga left the gym and headed back to YoYo Daycare.

After returning, Yuga took a walk around the Ecopark and brought back a Buneary, a Teddiursa, a Taillow, and a Meowth to the gym.

The Teddiursa was the child of an Ursaring and a Pangoro, having just hatched not long ago. Originally, it had only yellow potential, but after using an innovation potion, it had upgraded to green potential.

It was actually Ursaring's idea to find a trainer for Teddiursa. Its previous offspring had been given to Ayashi by Yuga, and that Teddiursa had now grown into an outstanding Ursaring. Perhaps enjoying the life of a hands-off parent, Ursaring didn't hesitate to communicate this desire to Yuga.

As for the Meowth, it was the descendant of the stray Pokémon Yuga had previously discovered in the Ecopark.

Technically speaking, the Meowth was no longer a baby Pokémon and shouldn't have been on the list for sale. However, recently, it had been targeted by a Sneasel and its little gang for no apparent reason. Though Yuga had already dealt with the Sneasel, he thought it over and decided to include Meowth in the lineup anyway.

After returning to the gym, Yuga released the Pokémon, lining them up in front of Cheren. He said, "Take a look and see which one catches your eye. They may not be rare, but I can guarantee their potential!"

Yuga didn't provide much more information about the Pokémon, only mentioning their abilities and inherited moves. He left the rest to Cheren to figure out on his own. Being a skilled trainer, Cheren had his own methods for evaluating Pokémon.

Cheren scanned the Pokémon one by one, and his eyes immediately fell on Meowth. Although Meowth looked obedient, its eyes hinted at a sharpness that revealed its fierceness. Otherwise, it wouldn't have clashed with the Sneasel group.

"I'll choose this Meowth!" Cheren said with a smile, picking up the Meowth from the ground and gently stroking its back. Meowth let out two soft purrs of contentment, glanced up at Cheren, and then lowered its head to lick its paw before curling up contentedly in his arms.

Seeing Meowth like this, Cheren liked it even more!

On the other hand, Teddiursa, who had been eagerly hoping to be chosen, was instantly petrified when Cheren didn't pick it.

Am I... am I not cute? Why wasn't I chosen?

Ursaring had gone to great lengths to market Teddiursa.

It had told Teddiursa how wonderful and exciting the outside world was, and how there was an endless supply of delicious honey out there. Teddiursa had become filled with anticipation, eagerly waiting for a trainer to come and take it away.

Now, after a trainer finally came, they didn't pick Teddiursa! Teddiursa felt utterly crushed, as though it had taken a direct hit.

Mommy said I'm cute! Shouldn't humans choose the cutest one?

Quietly, Teddiursa waddled over to Cheren and hugged his pant leg.

"Teddiursa..."

Teddiursa sucked on one of its fingers, staring at Cheren with its big, round, watery eyes, looking incredibly adorable.

This method of acting cute was something Teddiursa's mother, Ursaring, had taught it. Even though Ursaring looked fierce, it had told Teddiursa that as long as it fully utilized its childhood cuteness, people would love it and it would gain benefits from it.

So, unbeknownst to Yuga, Teddiursa had been "taught wrong" by its mom.

Cheren was startled as the little Teddiursa suddenly approached him.

Am I really that popular with Pokémon? he wondered, before feeling a bit conflicted.

"Teddiursa... Teddiursa..."

Seeing that Cheren was unmoved, Teddiursa affectionately rubbed its head against Cheren's pant leg, its eyes practically pleading, "Pick me!"

Cheren hurriedly stepped to the side, but Teddiursa quickly followed him. Cheren moved again, and Teddiursa clung back onto his leg; each time Cheren moved, Teddiursa would latch onto him again...

Yuga, watching from the side, thought: ...

It wasn't that Teddiursa wasn't cute, but thinking about its evolved form, Ursaring, Yuga found Teddiursa's attempt at being cute a little awkward.

"Gym Leader Shimizu, what do you think..." Cheren looked troubled. Teddiursa was nice, but he still preferred Meowth!

The Meowth, snug in Cheren's arms, sensed its new owner's dilemma. It looked down and, with a small leap, jumped to the ground, landing right in front of Teddiursa.

Startled by Meowth's sudden movement, Teddiursa hid behind Cheren, hugging his leg even tighter, casting a wary look at Meowth as if to say, "What are you planning?"

"Meowth!"

Meowth stood up on its hind legs and crouched down, its sharp claws extending from its paw pads. It licked them with its tongue, then cast a threatening glance at Teddiursa.

Teddiursa trembled, but stubbornly refused to release Cheren's leg.

Seeing Teddiursa's persistence, Meowth suddenly darted behind it, its sharp claws poised to strike.

At that moment, a hand grabbed Teddiursa by the scruff of its neck, lifting it up.

"Alright, alright! I'll find you a trainer next time, okay?" Yuga said, comforting Teddiursa.

"Teddiursa... Teddiursa!"

Okay... I guess... since you're saying so!

Teddiursa glanced nervously at Meowth, who was sitting on the ground licking its paw. Finally, it didn't dare act up anymore.

"Meowth, you can relax and follow your new trainer from now on!" After calming Teddiursa, Yuga spoke to Meowth.

In the end, Yuga sold the Meowth to Cheren for 250,000.

In the days that followed, Cheren settled down at the Verdanturf Gym.

Since it was already the end of the year, there were very few challengers. An entire week passed, and Yuga only received one challenger.

During gym battles, Yuga had Cheren observe the matches from the sidelines. After each match, he would explain to Cheren what to pay attention to during battles, what to say after the match, how to decide whether to award the challenger a badge and other important details.

But after that one challenger, several days went by without any more challengers. So Yuga focused on running the daycare, while Cheren busied himself training the newly acquired Meowth.

Before they knew it, the day to hand over the innovation potion to the distribution department had arrived. After Yuga sent off the delivery people, he suddenly heard a commotion at the entrance of the shop.

"What's going on?" Yuga asked Suzuki Koen.

"I don't know," she replied, shaking her head.

So Yuga, Suzuki Koen, and Ayaka all ran to the entrance. When they arrived, they saw a crowd gathered around, pointing and talking about something in the middle.

"Cleff....Cleffa...Cleffa..."

"Mime Jr.... Mime Jr.! Mime Jr.... Mime Jr.!"

Yuga pushed through the crowd and immediately saw a Cleffa and a Mime Jr. in the middle. The two little Pokémon were holding hands, dancing around and muttering an oddly-tuned song, causing the crowd to burst into laughter.

Yuga: ...

It wasn't surprising to see the two little troublemakers performing outside, but something about their appearance was off, as if... they were drunk.

Oh, right! Speaking of alcohol, Audino had been experimenting with brewing wine lately! Could it be that these two little guys...

"Cleffa ... Cleffa ... Cleffa ! Cleffa ... Cleffa ... Cleffa !"

"Mime Jr.... Mime Jr.! Mime Jr.!"

Cleffa and Mime Jr. continued their hypnotic dance and singing, and Yuga quickly rushed over, grabbing both of them in his arms and carrying them back into the store.

The crowd saw Yuga and immediately started shouting with laughter, "Gym Leader Shimizu, why are you taking them away? They were just getting to the good part!"

"Yeah, yeah! Don't be in such a hurry!" someone chimed in.

Everyone knew that Cleffa and Mime Jr. belonged to YoYo Daycare, and since they often saw them goofing around, no one had noticed anything unusual.

Yuga turned back and said, "I'll have them perform for you another day. That's enough for today!" He finished speaking and stepped into the shop.

"Alright, everyone, move along! Go back to what you were doing!" Suzuki Koen shouted at the crowd before following Yuga inside.

The crowd didn't protest and dispersed with chuckles.

As soon as Yuga entered the shop, he called out, "Audino, check if there's any wine missing!"

Audino responded from a distance.

In truth, Yuga didn't need confirmation. When he had picked up Cleffa and Mime Jr., the strong scent of alcohol had hit him immediately.

He put the two little Pokémon down on the ground, and they immediately started dancing again, especially Mime Jr., who was jumping with great enthusiasm!

This Mime Jr. was the child of two Mr. Mime. Unlike its parents' serious demeanor, Mime Jr. was extremely lively, particularly fond of mimicking others' dances.

Cleffa hadn't been at the daycare for long, but the two little Pokémon had quickly become best friends, a perfect match in mischief.

Whenever they had free time, Cleffa would drag Mime Jr. to sample the food made by its idol, Audino; and Mime Jr. would take Cleffa to Yuga's room to sneakily watch TV, then they'd run to the front of the shop to perform for passersby.

Since they hung out in front of the shop so often, the two had become local celebrities, a comedic duo in the eyes of the people. That's why no one had been surprised by their antics earlier.

Audino soon returned, and sure enough, the two little troublemakers had stolen and drunk an entire barrel of wine.

Audino's wine-making was just a whimsical experiment. With no experience, the taste was bad, but the alcohol was potent, which explained why the two were so drunk.

"This is ridiculous!"

Yuga was furious!

He grabbed two ropes and led the pair to the main Ecopark, tying them up and hanging them from a tree branch.

Cleffa and Mime Jr. were still completely out of it. Even while hanging from the tree, they didn't struggle, they happily singing away as they swayed back and forth, convinced they were riding a swing.

Yuga glanced at Nana, saying, "Keep an eye on them. Don't let them down!"

"Gardevoir!"

Alright!

Nana nodded, still unsure how these two little troublemakers had managed to upset Yuga.

Bagon who just about to go out to find Nana, happened to witness this scene. It circled the tree and looked up at Cleffa and Mime Jr., who were hanging there, and suddenly felt a bit pleased.

(ー`ー) Hmph! Serves you right for being so smug!

Cleffa didn't like Bagon, and Mime Jr., by association, always treated it with disdain as well.

Just as Yuga stepped out of the Ecopark, he saw Cheren standing at the entrance.

"Cheren, why are you here? Do we have challengers?"

Cheren nodded and said, "Two rather strange challengers have arrived."

"Strange challengers? Let's go have a look."

On the way to the gym, Cheren told Yuga that the challengers were two people dressed in cloaks.

Normally, when someone comes to challenge the gym, they have to register with their real name. Otherwise, even if they win, the gym can't issue them a badge.

But when Cheren tried to register the two challengers, they refused. They said they only wanted to challenge the gym and didn't care about the badge. So Cheren hurried to inform Yuga.

No interest in badges? Then why challenge the gym? Are they here to cause trouble? Yuga wondered as they walked.

By the time they arrived, the two challengers were already on the battlefield, organized by Beidou.

"Hello!"

Yuga greeted the two challengers politely. Both were dressed in identical black robes, with one being tall and the other short. Their faces were completely concealed by their hoods.

"Greetings, Gym Leader Shimizu!"

The taller one bowed to Yuga, and the shorter one followed suit but remained silent, appearing to show great respect for Yuga.

"Since you both wish to challenge the gym, let's begin."

Yuga, being a Hall of Fame-level trainer within the Hoenn League, couldn't refuse such a challenge.

"Which one of you will be battling?" Yuga asked, looking at each of them in turn.

The shorter figure stepped forward, but still didn't say a word.

Once the two challengers took their positions on the battlefield, Yuga said to the shorter one, "According to the rules of Verdanturf Gym, it will be a three-on-three battle. Is that acceptable?"

The shorter challenger remained silent, but the taller one spoke on his behalf, "We'll follow whatever rules the Gym Leader sets."

Yuga glanced at the silent shorter figure, finding him odd. Could he be mute? he wondered, but decided not to dwell on it. He pulled out a Poké Ball and released his first Pokémon.

As the host of the gym battle, it was the rule for Yuga to release his Pokémon first.

Yuga's first Pokémon was a Leavanny, while the opponent sent out a Xatu.

At the call from referee Beidou, Yuga's Leavanny launched the first attack, sprinting forward with its limbs aglow in a yellow-green light. The sharp X-Scissor attack aimed straight for Xatu's neck.

Yuga had already used his Insight ability to analyze Xatu's stats. Its strength was roughly equal to Leavanny's, with both at around level 40.

Facing the X-Scissor, Xatu easily dodged with a Teleport and countered with an Air Slash. But Leavanny, being slender and agile, also dodged the attack with ease.

Initially, Yuga thought that given Xatu's level, it wouldn't be able to use Teleport frequently, as the move drains a lot of psychic energy. Once its psychic energy is depleted, Xatu would be defenseless.

However, to his surprise, Xatu continued using Teleport without any sign of mental exhaustion. Leavanny hadn't landed a single hit and was already panting from the effort.

Just as Yuga noticed Xatu showing signs of psychic depletion, he sensed a strong wave of psychic energy radiating from the short challenger. Suddenly, Xatu was revitalized.

In another quick Teleport, Xatu silently appeared behind Leavanny and landed a direct hit with an Air Slash, knocking Leavanny out of the battle.

Yuga frowned and looked at the short challenger. "Who are you?"