In order to confirm that his feeling wasn't just an illusion, Yuga picked another fruit and ate it. That warm and cozy sensation spread throughout his whole body once again.
It wasn't an illusion!
"Florges, you try one too."
Yuga handed a fruit to Florges. She accepted it with a puzzled look, not understanding why Yuga was so excited. But the moment she ate the fruit, she instantly understood.
"This fruit really is exceptional," Yuga praised.
Of course! Torterra lifted its head proudly.
Since the fruit had such a great effect on both himself and Florges, Yuga decided to pick them all and eat them slowly over time.
"All right now, you'd better go get more familiar with the new power you've just gained."
After picking the fruit, Yuga saw Torterra still looking smug and shook his head helplessly.
"Torterra~"
Torterra responded and then staggered away. Seeing this, Yuga said to Florges, "Go help it."
"Florges~"
Florges nodded and followed after it.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed since Yuga returned to Verdanturf City from Sinnoh.
That day, Yuga was discussing the secrets of making Pokéblocks with Misaki. As he finished preparing one batch of Pokéblocks, he suddenly received a notification from the system — his side quest had been completed.
In other words, his Pokéblock crafting skill had reached the top level.
...
[ Congratulations to the host for completing the side quest: Hone Yourself (Part 2) ]
[ Requirements: ]
[ ① Raise your Pokéblock crafting skill to the top level. ]
[ ② Raise your incense-making skill to the intermediate level. ]
[ Reward: Incense-making instructional video (already issued). ]
...
Finally finished! Yuga was overjoyed. All his hard work and persistent training had finally paid off!
Of course, he had to thank the system's previously rewarded instructional video for its step-by-step teaching. Otherwise, given his own aptitude, trying to become a top-level Pokéblock craftsman through self-practice alone would have been nearly impossible.
Misaki also noticed the Pokéblock that Yuga had just finished and immediately exclaimed, "Boss, you did it! This is a top-quality Pokéblock!"
Yuga was over the moon inside, but seeing Misaki also so thrilled, he put on a nonchalant face and said, "Hey, what's all the fuss? It's just a top-quality Pokéblock. Wasn't it only a matter of time before I could make one?"
Misaki knew her boss was showing off, so she covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "Yes, yes, our boss is a once-in-a-century— no, once-in-a-millennium genius! Making a top-quality Pokéblock is just a matter of minutes for you, right? You only hadn't made one before because you wanted to stay low-key, isn't that right?"
Yuga gave Misaki a look of "you're a smart one" and happily continued crafting more Pokéblocks.
Top-quality Pokéblocks were crystal-clear and sparkling, looking just like beautiful gemstones — a true visual delight.
While Yuga was immersed in making Pokéblocks, the system issued him a new side quest. That was just like the system — always piling on more.
...
[ Side Quest: Hone Yourself (Part 3) ]
[ Description: Since the host has already become a top-level Pokéblock craftsman, how far can top-level incense-making be? So keep up the effort! ]
[ Requirement: Raise incense-making skill to top level. ]
[ Reward: A portion of an incomplete Origin of a Legendary Pokemon (limited to mythical Pokémon) (random). ]
...
When Yuga saw this quest, he was stunned. It was the first time he'd seen "Origin of a Legendary Pokemon" as a reward for a system task — that was seriously powerful!
No matter what, take the quest first! Thinking this, Yuga immediately clicked on the floating "Accept" button on the quest.
After finishing his Pokéblock crafting practice, Yuga, as usual, went to Lain to continue his incense-making practice. At the same time, he shared the good news that he had successfully crafted top-quality Pokéblocks for the first time.
After hearing this, Lain said sourly, "You're all amazing. Poor me — I don't even have a single top-tier incense master here."
Yuga immediately comforted her, saying, "Ah, it's just a matter of time. I believe in our Sister Lain — you'll definitely become a top-tier incense master too."
In fact, Yuga felt that Lain wasn't far from reaching the top level in incense-making; she was just missing a breakthrough opportunity. Now that he had received the instructional video from the system as a reward, he was confident that Lain would soon become a top-tier incense master too!
After a bit of teasing, the two began seriously practicing incense-making again.
Close to noon, Yuga left the new store's workshop to go home for lunch. As soon as he entered the door, he excitedly said to Doudou, "Doudou, come here, I've got something tasty for you to try."
With a face full of confusion, Doudou was pulled into the upstairs dining room by Yuga. On the dining table, lunch was already prepared by Doudou for Yuga, but Yuga didn't bother to eat yet.
He rushed into the kitchen, brought back a dish, then took out the top-quality Pokéblocks he had just made that day and poured a few into the dish.
"Ta-da! Look what this is!"
Looking at the top-quality Pokéblocks in the dish, Doudou still looked puzzled. Aren't those just top-quality Pokéblocks? They were rare, yes, but it had eaten them many times before. What's there to be so excited about?
Yuga immediately saw through what Doudou was thinking and explained, "These aren't ordinary top-quality Pokéblocks. These are the first batch of top-tier Pokéblocks I made with my own hands.
I thought since you've worked so hard taking care of me, I wanted you to be the first to enjoy them."
Doudou was instantly touched upon hearing this.
However, Yuga's words were overheard by Ninetales and Nana, who were just passing by. Instantly, the two of them, feeling a bit displeased, walked in.
"So only Doudou worked hard taking care of you? The rest of us who are out there risking our lives are doing it for nothing, huh?"
No need to ask — only Ninetales would speak to Yuga with such sarcasm.
Yuga hurriedly denied, "Of course not! I've prepared for everyone, I've prepared for everyone…"
As he spoke, Yuga took out a few more jars of Pokéblocks, all made by him today — also top-quality Pokéblocks. There were red crystals suitable for Ninetales (Fire-type), the ones suitable for Nana (Psychic-type)... all sorts of types, though there weren't many of each, and none of them were from his very first batch.
Ninetales had a clear view of what kind of person Yuga was now and could tell he was trying to smooth things over, but chose not to expose him.
Although it felt a little disgruntled inside, it also knew that Doudou had been by Yuga's side for a much longer time, always taking meticulous care of his daily life and also diligently managing the entire Ecopark. There was no way to compete with that.
"Hmph~"
Ninetales let out a cold snort, jumped up on a chair, used its psychic power to bring over the jar of red crystals, poured out two, and began eating them on its own.
Compared to Ninetales, Nana was much more easygoing. After all, it used to be Celebi — one of the most gentle species in the entire Pokémon world — so it didn't have a strong sense of jealousy.
Nana sat down on a chair, casually picked up the jar of illusion Pokéblocks, and began eating. Seeing that the "crisis" had been resolved, Yuga quickly sat down and said, "Ah, I'm starving too. Let's all eat together."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Yuga thought: Thank goodness Florges isn't here…
Several more days passed. With Yuga's diligent practice, his skill in making top-tier Pokéblocks had become more and more stable. At the same time, he secretly began studying the system-rewarded "Incense Crafting Instructional Video."
As expected of a system reward, the video was incredibly helpful. Yuga studied it for several days in a row, and his skills improved by leaps and bounds. Areas he had previously struggled to understand suddenly became crystal clear.
At the same time, he took notes on all the key points mentioned in the video and recorded the entire process of his studying. He planned to go over it with Lain together.
That day, Yuga brought the notes he had written and the recorded video to Lain. After watching them, Lain exclaimed in surprise:
"Boss, you wrote all this? How did you suddenly have such a breakthrough?"
Yuga frowned unhappily and said, "What kind of question is that? Are you saying I'm dumb?"
Lain bluntly replied, "Don't you know yourself whether you're dumb or not? I'm not joking—just tell me, did you get some expert guidance?"
Seeing that he couldn't fool her, Yuga had no choice but to lie, "Didn't I go to Ayamu's school before? I met a senior there, he's actually a reclusive top-level incense master. His skills in incense-making are incredible. I've been keeping in touch with him, and he often gives me some pointers. That's why…I've written everything down."
"No wonder!"
Lain suddenly understood. She didn't doubt Yuga's words at all, because she knew that Ayamu was currently studying at a secret school. It wouldn't be strange for some masters to be there.
Besides, Yuga's progress was obvious to the naked eye, and the key points written in his notes and the techniques in the video were both very rare.
"Boss, can you introduce that master to me?" Lain asked nervously.
Yuga pretended to hesitate and said, "I'm afraid that's not possible. You've probably heard about the rules of Ayamu's school…"
Lain had already expected Yuga to refuse, but she couldn't help feeling disappointed. "Alright then… looks like I'm not fated to meet that master…"
Seeing her expression, Yuga quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll continue taking notes whenever I learn from him, and I'll let you look at them anytime."
"Really?" Lain instantly lit up with a big smile. "That's wonderful!"
So, the two of them excitedly began studying the notes and the video together, both feeling they had gained a lot.
Before they knew it, half the day had passed. When Yuga's stomach started rumbling, he awkwardly said, "Time to eat. Let's continue our discussion later."
Just as Yuga walked out of the new shop, he saw a tall, towering figure running toward him, looking rather anxious.
It was him…
Yuga instinctively stopped walking. The person coming toward him was none other than Gillette, whom Yuga had seen a few days ago at the Pokémon Club.
Gillette also spotted Yuga. Taking long strides, he walked over and said, "Mr. Shimizu, what a coincidence!"
Yuga smiled and replied, "It's not really a coincidence, is it? Isn't it normal for you to run into me near my own shop?"
Gillette looked up and saw the signboard for the new YoYo Day Care shop, finally realizing he had unconsciously wandered near the area.
He smacked his forehead. "Look at me, I must have been too anxious!"
Yuga asked in confusion, "Mr. Gillette, did you run into some trouble?"
Gillette gave a bitter smile and said, "I accidentally got separated from my Lopunny. The poor thing isn't familiar with Verdanturf City at all, and it's timid by nature. It must be scared out of its mind right now. Mr. Shimizu, I don't suppose you've seen a strange Lopunny around here?"
Hearing this, Yuga's eyes flickered quickly, but he immediately shook his head. "I haven't seen one. It probably didn't come this way."
Gillette glanced discreetly around and then let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Then I must have gone the wrong way. I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, Gillette left in a hurry.
However, he didn't go far. Midway, he doubled back and secretly observed Yuga from a hidden spot. But all his movements were seen by the surveillance Pokémon stationed near YoYo Day Care, and they informed Yuga of his behavior through discreet means.
After Gillette truly left, a Natu silently appeared on Yuga's shoulder, then led him to a nearby trash bin.
The Natu called out to Yuga twice. Yuga frowned and lifted the trash bin lid. Inside, curled up and trembling, was a Lopunny.
It was obvious this was the Lopunny Gillette was looking for. A strange Pokémon entering the vicinity of YoYo Day Care could not possibly go unnoticed by the surveillance Pokémon.
The Lopunny sensed the movement and cautiously raised her head. But upon seeing the unfamiliar Yuga, she immediately became terrified, covering her head with her hands and curling into a tight ball.
...
[ Lopunny ]
Type: Normal
Ability: Cute Charm
Gender: Female
Potential: Green
Level: 11
Moves: Bounce, Pound, Foresight, Rototiller, Jump Kick, Return, Fake Tears, Power-Up Punch
...
Yuga wasn't particularly surprised by Lopunny's excellent aptitude. Instead, he asked, "Are you the one Gillette is looking for?"
At the mention of Gillette's name, the Lopunny trembled even harder. Seeing this, Yuga reassured her gently, "Don't worry. I won't hand you over to Gillette."
Only then did the Lopunny slowly raise her head, her face covered in dirty smudges.
"Come on out first. I'll take you to my place and hide you," Yuga continued.
However, the Lopunny had just escaped from Gillette and was unwilling to trust a stranger. She only stared warily at Yuga and still clung tightly to the bottom of the trash bin.
With no other choice, Yuga leaned down and quietly whispered a few instructions to the Natu beside him. In the next second, the Natu disappeared from where it stood.
Before long, Doudou came rushing over. Yuga handed over the task of calming Lopunny's emotions to Doudou. As someone who had managed the Ecopark for years, Doudou was far better than Yuga at comforting distressed Pokémon.
Sure enough, not long after, Doudou successfully led Lopunny out of the trash bin. However, she still looked at Yuga with deep wariness and clung tightly to Doudou, getting Dodo all smudged with dirt. Doudou didn't mind at all and continued trying to comfort her.
To be precise, Lopunny now looked at all male humans with extreme distrust.
After Doudou brought Lopunny home, she gave her a bath. Once the grime was gone, Lopunny's stunning appearance became apparent.
Yuga finally began to understand why that pervert Gillette had been so desperate to find this Lopunny.
Yuga wasn't sure what this Lopunny looked like in the eyes of other Pokémon, but from a human perspective—she was indeed beautiful.
Once she was sure she was truly safe, the Lopunny suddenly clung to Doudou and burst into tears.
In order to help her escape, the Delphox had been killed by that demon Gillette!