CHAPTER 1492: RECRUITMENT AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIP RETURN

In the period that followed, Yuga began to closely monitor whether that intruder would show up a second time, and he also instructed the surveillance Pokémon around the Day Care to be on full alert.

However, several days went by in a row, and the intruder never showed up again, which made Yuga feel extremely uneasy.

No matter how uncomfortable he felt, that intruder simply never reappeared. This even made Yuga start to doubt whether the system had made a mistake.

Of course, Yuga was just saying that — the likelihood of the system making a mistake was extremely low.

Time flew by, and it was suddenly June. Hoenn was about to step into the hottest part of the season, and the main construction of Verdanturf University had finally been more or less completed. The remaining construction work could be slowly completed after students began enrolling.

At the invitation of Mr. Gasai, Yuga went to visit a few times and found that this higher education institution had been built incredibly luxuriously. Whether in terms of land area or internal facilities, it was extremely impressive. The League must have invested quite a lot, so the university’s academic resources were probably not lacking either.

Following that, Mr. Gasai and the relevant staff became even busier because they had to start preparing for the enrollment of new students at Verdanturf University. Staff members for the various departments within the university also began arriving one after another.

Because of this, Yuga specially contacted Ayaya, Anmu, and Anlin, who were traveling outside, to ask if they wanted to enroll at Verdanturf University for further studies. After all, it was a rare opportunity, and as the Gym Leader of Verdanturf Town, he had admissions recommendation slots in his hands.

Ayaya and the others had already graduated from Intermediate Trainer School a long time ago. Without Yuga’s recommendation, getting into any university would not be easy.

Yuga also asked Ayafu and Sena Arata, but they were older and had already passed the age for college enrollment, so both of them turned down the opportunity.

Besides, they also preferred their current life of adventure.

Ayaya, Anlin, and Anmu were currently traveling, while Ayafu and Sena Arata were exploring, often entering dangerous places and ruins across various regions. Their situations were not the same.

As for Ayamu, she was doing well at Zenith Academy, so it was impossible for her to drop out and return. Besides, that place was a better fit for her.

Anya’s situation was the same as Ayafu and Sena Arata’s. She was studying under Mr. Harrison and had no need to attend Verdanturf University.

And it wasn’t even certain that the professors at Verdanturf University were more capable than Mr. Harrison.

After receiving Yuga’s notice, Ayaya, Anlin, and Anmu immediately rushed back from their travels. They all felt this was a great opportunity and decided to follow Yuga’s suggestion to enroll and study further.

Having traveled for so long, the three of them had seen plenty. At this point, receiving more professional and systematic education could better enhance their abilities.

Before that, they had to make solid preparations. Although Yuga had admissions recommendation slots, they still had to take the entrance exam. If their test scores were too poor, Mr. Gasai might not admit them into the school.

In mid-June, all three — Ayaya, Anlin, and Anmu — finally arrived back in Verdanturf Town and immediately began an intense phase of review.

They had been out of school for a while, and much of the knowledge from textbooks had been forgotten. Fortunately, the three of them had all graduated from proper Trainer Schools, so cramming at the last minute still proved effective.

Verdanturf University was scheduled to start in September, and the end of August was the time Ayaya and the others would take their entrance exams. There were still two months to go, and the three of them indeed had a heavy review workload.

At this time, the Hoenn League had already started promoting Verdanturf University, hoping to attract more graduates from Intermediate Trainer Schools to apply for enrollment.

But in reality, whether it was the League or Mr. Gasai as the principal, they all clearly understood that as a newly established university, the enrollment rate for the first year was definitely not going to be high. Otherwise, Yuga wouldn’t have received so many recommendation slots.

Even so, as the only newly established higher education institution built by the Hoenn League in recent years, the League still cared a great deal about Verdanturf University’s enrollment numbers. That’s why they spared no effort in publicizing it.

To help Aya and the other two study better, Yuga specifically arranged a dedicated space for them in the gym, strictly forbidding anyone from disturbing them. From then on, the three of them embarked on a two-month-long "hellish review plan."

One day, Mewtwo summoned Yuga to the Ecopark. As it turned out, after a period of recuperation, the two Deoxys had basically recovered their health and were ready to say goodbye to Yuga.

The Deoxys expressed heartfelt gratitude for Yuga’s help, stating that if Yuga ever needed them in the future, they would do everything they could to assist.

The one who found it hardest to part with them was Chimecho. However, all good things must come to an end. In the end, the two Deoxys disappeared into the sky above Verdanturf Town under the watchful gaze of Yuga and Chimecho.

When Yuga left the Ecopark, Mewtwo asked him to bring Magearna out as well. The purpose was for Yuga to arrange for Magearna to start learning basic knowledge about the outside world.

Since its birth, Magearna had never once left the Ecopark. Mewtwo believed that a newly created Magearna wasn’t ready to be exposed to too much of the outside world yet, as it could negatively affect its newly formed consciousness.

In the days that followed, Mewtwo almost entirely focused on teaching Magearna and guiding it through the cultivation it should undergo as a legendary Pokémon. Even the friends it made were carefully selected by Mewtwo—pure-hearted Pokémon within the Ecopark.

Mewtwo’s "overprotective father" mentality was on full display.

Now that Magearna’s mind had grown more stable and mature, Mewtwo decided it was time to let it try interacting with the world outside.

After sending off the Deoxys, Yuga brought Magearna to the shop and officially introduced it to Suzuki Koen and the others.

Due to the lack of teaching about human social behavior, Magearna wasn’t very skilled in interpersonal interactions. After Yuga finished introducing it, it bowed stiffly and formally to Suzuki Koen and the others, which caused everyone to burst into laughter. However, it did have one good trait: it wasn’t shy. Even when facing a group of strangers, it didn’t feel uneasy.

Magearna didn’t understand why everyone was laughing, its mind filled with confusion. But as a mechanical lifeform, it didn’t easily show emotion on its face, so it simply tilted its head blankly and stared at everyone.

Seeing this, Yuga explained, "Everyone here is family, so you don’t have to be so formal. Just relax—act like how you do when you’re with your dad."

Magearna called Mewtwo "Dad." Mewtwo had tried to correct it in the beginning, but after realizing it was futile, he gave up. When the two of them were together, Magearna didn’t act like it did now—it was actually lively and charming.

After hearing Yuga’s explanation, Magearna was still full of confusion. How could others possibly be the same as Dad?

Seeing its puzzled expression, Yuga patted its head and said, "Never mind. It’s okay if you don’t understand now. You’ll slowly learn in time."

Magearna nodded obediently at his words.

After Magearna had been introduced to everyone, Yuga called over Gothitelle and asked her to guide Magearna around the store to help it get familiar with things.

Magearna was very obedient, following Gothitelle around and doing whatever she instructed.

Magearna had excellent learning ability, something even Mewtwo acknowledged. So it didn’t take long for it to become familiar with the shop’s operations. However, when it came to understanding human relationships, it was still very much in the dark. From time to time, it would cause small, harmless misunderstandings, which brought a cheerful and lively atmosphere to the shop.

Yuga was a bit worried about Magearna, so he didn’t go off to do other things. Instead, he helped Suzuki Koen with some bookkeeping while keeping a quiet eye on Magearna.

"Mr. Shimizu, time to check out."

Just as Yuga was quietly observing Magearna, Chikai came up to the counter with two cans of Pokéblocks to check out.

"Here to buy more Pokéblocks again?" Yuga greeted casually.

"Yeah, those guys at home eat way too much," Chikai replied with a smile. Though it sounded like a complaint, his face was filled with pride.

Chikai often came to the shop to buy things. After seeing him so many times, Yuga had a rough idea of what Pokémon he had on hand.

In Yuga’s opinion, Chikai’s Pokémon were indeed a bit overly gluttonous—their consumption of Pokéblocks was almost twice as much as other Trainers.

But since he was just the seller, people could buy as much as they wanted. After all, it wasn’t his money being spent. Whether they were bought to feed the Pokémon or secretly eaten by the Trainer themselves, that wasn’t his concern.

While calculating the price for the Pokéblocks, Yuga heard Chikai ask, "What’s that Pokémon over there? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before."

Yuga looked up and followed Chikai’s gaze—he was talking about Magearna.

Yuga casually packed the Pokéblocks Chikai had purchased and answered, "Ah, that one’s called Magearna. You could say it’s a new species of Pokémon."

Yuga didn’t hide anything and directly told Chikai. Unlike Mewtwo, that shut-in who wouldn’t leave the lab no matter what, Yuga had no intention of keeping Magearna’s existence a secret.

On one hand, he wanted Magearna to live a life of its own choosing. On the other hand, he believed either he or YoYo Breeding House had the strength to protect it. There was no need to act so timid or hide it away.

Upon hearing this, Chikai’s face showed genuine surprise. He was silent for a while before saying, "Mr. Shimizu really has quite a few rare Pokémon here!"

Yuga could hear the sour tone in Chikai’s voice and just smiled, not caring at all. He handed over the packaged Pokéblocks and said, "Here are your Pokéblocks. Please take them."

While Yuga and Chikai were talking, over at the Gym, Beidou received two Poké Balls via the Pokémon transport system. When opened, out came Gothita and Cubchoo, who had previously been sent to Bell Tower for training.

After Gothita and Cubchoo were released from their Poké Balls, they looked around in a daze. When they realized it really was their familiar Verdanturf Gym, they instantly grabbed each other’s hands and cheered in joy.

(≧ω≦)/ We’re home! They were finally home!

After their excitement, Gothita quickly clambered up onto Cubchoo’s back and shouted, "Let’s go! Let’s head back!"

Cubchoo responded with a quick bounce and carried Gothita as it ran straight out of the Gym door, disappearing from Beidou’s sight in the blink of an eye.

Because they were too overwhelmed with emotion, the two didn’t even think to acknowledge Beidou, who was standing nearby.

Beidou knew about the two little ones being sent to Bell Tower for training. Seeing them so full of energy, he could only shake his head helplessly and watch them run off.

On the street, Cubchoo dashed ahead like a gust of wind. The neighbors were all very familiar with these two little rascals. Seeing them again today made everyone suddenly realize—it had been quite a while since they’d last seen them.

Just as they were about to greet the pair, the two had already vanished from sight.

When Cubchoo and Gothita came running through the door, Chikai happened to be stepping out with the energy cubes he had just purchased. The two sides brushed past each other, briefly making eye contact.

Yuga looked up at the sound and saw Gothita jumping off of Cubchoo’s back.

Surprised, Yuga asked, "Why are you two back?"

"Gothita~ Gothita~"

Master Gon said our training is over.

Gothita answered shyly, worried that Yuga might send them back again. It had truly been terrified staying at that haunted place—Bell Tower.

For a Pokémon like Gothita, who was naturally laid-back and loved to play and enjoy freedom, a place like Bell Tower—filled with strict rules and discipline—was nothing short of a nightmare.

"Oh, is that so..." Yuga stared steadily at Gothita and asked, "Then you must have become very well-behaved, right?"

"Gothita~ Gothita~"

I’ve become good! Really good! You can ask Cubchoo!

Gothita nodded its head so hard it looked like a bobblehead doll.

Cubchoo quickly nodded too, serving as a witness for its little buddy. It hadn’t originally needed to go to Bell Tower, but went along to keep Gothita company. After enduring those grueling months at Bell Tower, it certainly didn’t want to go back either.

Seeing how frightened the two little ones were, Yuga finally let them off the hook.

"All right, go play then."

Gothita and Cubchoo, as if receiving a royal pardon, dashed off in the blink of an eye.

As it happened, Gothitelle was in the shop at that moment. Gothita ran straight into its mother’s arms, throwing itself at her, whining and complaining about all the suffering it had endured over the past few months.

Whimper whimper whimper...

Magearna was standing nearby, watching Gothita. Come to think of it, it was sort of Magearna’s fault that Gothita was punished in the first place. So naturally, Gothita noticed Magearna right away. But thinking of all the misery it had gone through in the past months, even if it harbored resentment, it didn’t dare lash out at Magearna. It could only pretend not to see her.

However, even though Gothita had suffered a bit, it had indeed made great progress. After work in the afternoon, Yuga went to the Ecopark specifically to inspect Gothita’s training. He found that not only had its level improved significantly, but even its combat ability had shown great improvement.

Yuga was very pleased with this and even made a special call to thank Gon.

Gon had been living in seclusion at Bell Tower for years. Although he wasn’t well-known in the outside world, his prestige within Bell Tower was growing steadily, and he had even earned the title of Master. Despite his young age, it was clear he had an extraordinary future ahead of him.

By comparison, Cubchoo’s progress was far more modest. After all, Bell Tower specialized in training Fire-type, Psychic-type, and Ghost-type Pokémon—none of which included Ice-types like Cubchoo.