Yuga walked into the berry grove. The Staraptor standing on a tree branch immediately noticed him and gave a slight nod in his direction.
As he walked further, Yuga suddenly heard voices, so he followed the sound. Soon, he saw several children sneakily climbing up the berry trees, trying to pick the fruits. One of them had even climbed all the way to the top of a branch.
Yuga looked at Staraptor in confusion. These kids were stealing berries, right? Why wasn't Staraptor doing anything?
Seeing that Staraptor was also looking at him, Yuga instantly understood. Clearly, Staraptor knew there were kids stealing berries, but it was just turning a blind eye.
These children were all around six or seven years old, very young. So although they sneaked into the grove, their actions weren't exactly subtle. For example, the voices just now—Yuga had heard them from far away. Of course, they couldn't possibly escape the notice of Staraptor, who was specifically assigned to guard the grove.
However, just at that moment, the child who had climbed the highest suddenly slipped and fell straight down from the tree.
"Ahhhh…"
A scream rang out. Yuga, who was still stunned, didn't have time to react and couldn't step in to help.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed by, shooting like an arrow toward the falling child. It caught the child steadily on its back and then landed safely on the ground.
It turned out to be Staraptor.
Seeing Staraptor, the children immediately scattered like frightened little birds, fleeing in all directions. They didn't even bother to pick up the berries they had dropped on the ground.
Only the child who had fallen from the tree was left, sitting limply on the ground and wailing loudly.
Yuga walked over, helped him up, and said, "Alright, don't cry, everything's okay now."
He comforted the child for quite a while before the crying finally stopped. Even so, the child still sniffled and kept stealing fearful glances at Staraptor.
Staraptor was indeed imposing, and its stern, serious expression was certainly scary. Not to mention, the child had just been caught red-handed "stealing."
Yuga admonished him, saying, "Next time, you mustn't do something so dangerous. And these berries belong to someone. Picking them without the owner's permission is called stealing. It's a bad thing, do you understand?"
The child didn't say anything, just silently nodded. Yuga didn't know how much of it he actually took to heart, so he sighed and said, "Alright, go home now."
As soon as the child heard this, he dashed off like the wind.
After the children left, Yuga learned from Staraptor that those kids were all from nearby neighbors' houses. They would occasionally come to steal a few berries. Since they never took much, Reggie just had Staraptor turn a blind eye.
Of course, this was under the condition that they didn't go overboard. If any brat dared to ruin the berries, Staraptor definitely wouldn't sit idly by.
While Yuga was chatting with Staraptor, he suddenly noticed a small head peeking out from behind a tree, secretly spying on them. No... to be precise, spying on Staraptor. That little look in her eyes was burning hot, just like a puppy seeing a meaty bone.
The one "spying" was a little girl.
The child, realizing Yuga had spotted her, quickly ducked her head back behind the tree. But soon enough, she quietly peeked out again, this time with a hint of curiosity in her gaze toward Yuga.
"Come here,"
Yuga beckoned to the child. The little girl hesitated for a moment but still walked over.
Yuga smiled and asked, "Were you with those other kids who were picking berries just now?"
The little girl thought Yuga was going to scold them for stealing berries and nervously took two steps back.
Seeing this, Yuga couldn't help but smile and said, "I'm not blaming you, I'm just asking casually. Besides, this berry grove isn't even mine."
Only then did the child breathe a sigh of relief.
Yuga asked again, "All your little friends ran away. Why are you still here?"
The girl didn't answer Yuga's question and kept staring at Staraptor with eyes full of burning admiration, it really was just like a puppy looking at a juicy bone.
Though that comparison might not be appropriate.
Staraptor was almost scorched by the heat in the little girl's eyes. It flapped its wings and quietly shuffled closer to Yuga, as if that would make it feel safer.
Yuga found the whole thing both funny and helpless.
Staraptor had seen this girl several times. Every time, she would look at it with that same gaze, although never as intensely as this time.
It was a bit scary...
"You really like Staraptor?"
The little girl quickly nodded. "I like it."
A sweet and soft-spoken little girl, with a tender and gentle voice.
"You want to be a Trainer in the future? Then you can catch a Starly yourself and raise it, Starly can evolve into Staraptor."
As soon as the little girl heard that, the light in her eyes dimmed, and she whispered, "Papa and Mama won't allow me to become a Trainer."
The girl's family wasn't well-off. Her parents didn't have high incomes. It wasn't that they couldn't afford an ordinary Pokémon, but wanting to become a Trainer wasn't just about buying a Pokémon and casually raising it. The follow-up training would cost a lot of money, sometimes even more than the cost of the Pokémon itself.
It's just like humans giving birth and raising children. Giving birth is only the beginning; raising the child afterward is the real challenge!
And this was just talking about raising one at the lowest standard. If one wanted to raise a Pokémon more carefully, more precisely, then the cost would be immeasurable.
The standards for raising a Trainer's Pokémon and raising a pet Pokémon were entirely different.
After hearing the girl's words, Yuga fell silent.
He could see the desire to become a Trainer in the girl's eyes, but she was still far too young, only six or seven years old. With her parents against it, how long could her dream really last?
"Would you be willing to show me around this area? I'm not very familiar with it." Yuga thought for a moment and then asked.
The little girl hesitated for a second, then nodded in agreement.
Yuga thought to himself: She's really just a child, agreeing so easily to a stranger's request.
But he was a good person, he certainly wouldn't abduct a little girl.
Actually, the girl wasn't as naive as Yuga thought. She was a local child and had known big brother Reggie from the Blue Sky Day Care since she was little. It was Reggie who inspired her dream of becoming a Trainer.
From Staraptor's behavior earlier, it was obvious that it knew this person, and this person wasn't a bad guy, so that's why she agreed.
As Yuga walked and chatted with the girl, he quickly learned that her name was Dory. She was six years old and lived right next to the Blue Sky Day Care. Her parents were familiar with Reggie and Reggie's grandfather.
The reason behind Dory's dream of becoming a Trainer wasn't complicated.
Once, Dory had an argument with her parents and ran away from home without permission. Unexpectedly, she was attacked by a wild Pokémon, and at the time, she was terrified.
It just so happened that Reggie and Staraptor were training nearby. They saved her casually. To Dory back then, Reggie and Staraptor were like heroes descending from the sky.
Although Reggie and Staraptor had long forgotten that incident.
Later, Dory learned more about Reggie from her parents, and the idea of becoming a Trainer sprouted in her heart.
Reggie's story wasn't a secret in the area. He was once a well-known Trainer in Veilstone City. He only gave up on his career as a Trainer because his grandfather was getting old and he had to take over the Day Care.
Of course, from Reggie's perspective, although he had taken over the Blue Sky Day Care and devoted most of his energy to it, it didn't mean he had given up on being a Trainer.
It was just a misunderstanding on everyone's part!
Dory, like everyone else, believed that Reggie had given up being a Trainer in order to inherit the Day Care, so she wanted to inherit big brother Reggie's unfulfilled dream.
Unfortunately, her parents wouldn't allow it…