I'm the Owner of the Pokémon Day Care In the World of Pokémon Chapter 1222: Opening

Since the matter involved Ecopark, Yuga pondered for a long ti before ultimately deciding to handle it privately. Given that several people had already died, he figured he might as well deal with it all at once.

These individuals were clearly under so sort of control, and Hypnosis had no effect on them. It was unlikely the police could extract anything useful from them. Worse, if this drew attention to the peculiarities of Ecopark, it would spell trouble.

Yuga entrusted the task of disposing of these bodies to Jellicent, who threw them into the Distortion World. For this, Giratina personally ca to confront Yuga, accusing him of treating the Distortion World as a garbage dump. Yuga was forced to sign nurous "unequal treaties" with Giratina to placate its displeasure.

And so, the incident quietly ca to an end. Throughout it all, Yuga never managed to figure out who had tried to harm him. While he suspected Team Rocket—given their deep-seated animosity—it was impossible to confirm without solid evidence.

After the nightti attack, YoYo Day Care gradually returned to its usual tranquility. With no further incidents, Yuga himself began to put the matter behind him over ti.

Ti flew by, and several months passed. Just a few days ago, the League Conferences across various regions concluded, and Verdanturf Town's Grass-type Pokémon Duel Tournant was fast approaching.

As the event date drew nearer, the town saw a significant influx of visitors. All departnts in Verdanturf were bustling with activity, and as the Gym Leader, Yuga also had to start preparing for the tournant.

As previously agreed, Erika arrived early from Kanto and stayed at Yuga's Paradise Hotel.

Originally, Erika had hoped to spend ti exchanging training insights with Yuga, but as the host of the tournant, Yuga was far too busy to interact with her much.

Fortunately, Ash and Dawn arrived just a few days later. A lively tournant like this was naturally the kind of event Ash wouldn't miss. Though not a Grass-type specialist, Ash had plenty of Grass-type Pokémon to join in the excitent.

Ash and Erika were already acquainted, so the two of them quickly struck up conversations. They often visited Verdanturf Gym to spar with each other.

However, neither of them went all out. With the tournant so close, it would be more interesting to save their real strength for the actual competition.

Incidentally, Ash perford exceptionally well in the recent Sinnoh League Conference, clinching the championship title.

In Yuga's mory, the original ani depicted Ash as only reaching the semifinals due to being targeted by a mysterious trainer with a Legendary Pokémon.

Perhaps due to the influence of the butterfly effect, Yuga watched the live television broadcast of the Sinnoh League Conference, and the mysterious trainer with the Legendary Pokémon never appeared.

Without the interference of the trainer, Ash naturally secured the championship title.

With the win, Ash beca quite smug. When Yuga t him, Ash's nose was practically in the air.

However, he was soon taught a lesson. During a sparring match with Erika, he suffered a crushing defeat.

Ash's battles with Erika could be traced back to when he had just started as a rookie Trainer. At that ti, Erika had shown leniency during their Gym match, leading Ash to rember her as not particularly strong.

In reality, however, Erika was one of the most outstanding Gym Leaders in the Kanto region, and her strength indeed surpassed Ash's. Although neither went all out, it was obvious to any observer where the difference lay.

After that sparring match, Ash was brought back down to earth and no longer acted so smug.

Ash, being a determined individual, dedicated himself to training over the next few days, vowing to defeat Erika in the tournant.

One day, after finishing his work at the town hall, Yuga returned ho. Just as he was about to step through the door, he suddenly heard soone calling him. Turning around, he saw a charming young woman looking at him.

"You are...?"

She looked familiar, but no matter how hard Yuga tried, he couldn't recall who she was.

"It seems Gym Leader Shimizu has completely forgotten !" the young woman joked. "Here's a hint: the Gym Competition."

"Ah... you're... Anya." Yuga suddenly realized, though he felt a little embarrassed. He had truly forgotten all about her.

Among the group who participated in the Gym Competition and beca Gym Leaders alongside him, Yuga still kept in touch with so, like Brawly and Viola, while others, like Anya, had gradually fallen out of contact.

Yuga recalled that Anya was from Crown City in the Sinnoh region and was now the Gym Leader there.

Like Verdanturf Gym, Crown City's Gym also specialized in Grass-type Pokémon.

Speaking of Crown City, one couldn't help but ntion sothing that Ash experienced there.

This incident dated back more than twenty years. At that ti, Crown City had suffered a disaster where all the city's vegetation withered overnight.

Through the combined efforts of both people and Pokémon, Crown City eventually regained its vitality.

However, the disaster in Crown City had been tied to the Mythical Pokémon Celebi. A man nad Kodai had used the opportunity to gain the ability of Celebi's Ti Ripple, allowing him to briefly see glimpses of the future.

Using this power, Kodai gradually beca the wealthiest and most influential person in Crown City.

Twenty years later, Kodai's Ti Ripple ability began to fade. Eager to regain this power, Kodai's ambitions grew, and he decided to capture Celebi for himself, causing significant chaos in Crown City.

Fortunately, his plans were thwarted by Ash and his friends, preventing Crown City from enduring a repeat of the disaster from two decades prior.

These were all things Ash later recounted to Yuga directly when they stayed in touch.

Although the major antagonist, Kodai, was eventually captured, Yuga speculated that Anya, as the Gym Leader of Crown City, must have borne so responsibility for the incident—at the very least, negligence.

In fact, Yuga's guess was correct. Anya was indeed reprimanded by the League for her oversight, and a significant portion of her accolades with the League was docked as punishnt. As a result, she harbored a deep hatred for the troublemaking Kodai.

"So you finally rembered who I am!" Anya said. "Well, it makes sense. We haven't seen each other in so many years, and we've been out of touch. It's normal that you forgot ."

It was indeed normal, but admitting it aloud was awkward.

"Are you here to participate in the Duel Tournant?"

As Anya approached, Yuga asked. But as soon as he spoke, he froze because he sensed Celebi's blessing emanating from her.

Almost instinctively, Yuga noticed Celebi's blessing on Anya, and at the sa ti, Anya sensed the sa blessing on Yuga. Both of them paused montarily, surprised.

However, it was clear that Anya had only recently received this ability, as the energy fluctuations on her were weak and far less potent compared to Yuga's.

"Y-Yes, of course! How could I miss such a lively event?" Anya quickly diverted the topic after her brief hesitation, and the two tacitly avoided ntioning Celebi's blessing.

"Fair enough..." Yuga responded with a nod. "Would you like to co in and sit for a while?"

"Sure! I might as well see if there's anything in your shop that suits ," Anya replied cheerfully.

"You won't be disappointed," Yuga said, inviting her into the shop.

Because they hadn't seen each other in so long, there was a bit of awkwardness between Yuga and Anya. Struggling to find a suitable topic, Yuga simply began introducing the shop's products to her.

Anya had already heard about YoYo Day Care and found herself genuinely interested after Yuga's introduction. She ended up purchasing quite a few items from the store.

As Anya finished shopping and the two were chatting, Ash and Hikaru happened to walk into the shop.

Seeing Anya talking to Yuga, Ash exclaid in surprise, "Gym Leader Anya, you're here too? You know Yuga?"

Anya was equally surprised for a mont but then smiled. "Why wouldn't I be here? I didn't expect you and Dawn to know Gym Leader Shimizu as well."

Dawn chid in, "Of course! Yuga is my cousin!"

"No wonder," Anya said, now understanding.

Hearing their conversation, Yuga laughed. "So you all know each other too! Anya and I were in the sa batch of Gym Leader candidates during the Gym Competition."

After chatting for a while, Anya left. Watching her departing figure, Yuga pondered: if he hadn't traveled to this world, would Anya, with Celebi's blessing, have beco his Master's disciple instead?

Shaking his head to dispel the thought, Yuga reminded himself that there was no point dwelling on "what-ifs." The world didn't work that way!

In the following days, Anya frequently joined Ash and the others to exchange experiences, eventually becoming acquainted with Erika. anwhile, Yuga remained busy with the preparations for the Duel Tournant, barely able to catch his breath.

As the tournant approached, Grass-type Trainers from all over the world gathered in Verdanturf Town. The invited judges—Cynthia, Caitlin, and Diantha—arrived one after another in the days leading up to the event.

Returning to Verdanturf Town alongside Diantha were Ninetales and Spoink, who had been filming a movie. The production had officially wrapped just before Diantha's trip.

Before anyone realized, the day of the Duel Tournant had arrived. The entire Verdanturf Town Stadium (forrly the Contest Hall) was packed with people. Fireworks exploded above the stadium, celebrating the grand opening of the tournant.

"Welco, participants and spectators, to the Verdanturf Town Grass-Type Pokémon Duel Tournant..."

The host and comntator for this competition was specially invited—Vivian. After a stirring opening speech, Yuga and Mayor Ishida each took the stage. Mayor Ishida gave words of encouragent to the participants, while Yuga outlined the competition rules and prizes.

The Grass-Type Pokémon Duel Tournant was divided into three parts: the preliminaries, the advancent rounds, and the finals. Only Grass-type Pokémon were allowed in the competition.

The preliminaries were an initial elimination round, with participants allowed to use only one Pokémon to filter out the weaker competitors. Participants were grouped into trios, and each trainer would battle the other two in their group. For each victory, the trainer would earn one point, while those with zero points would be eliminated.

The advancent round rules were simpler. The remaining participants were randomly paired, and each pair would face off in a double battle using two Pokémon at once. The winners would advance to the finals, while the losers were eliminated.

The finals followed a more traditional format. Contestants could use up to three Pokémon, sending them out one at a ti. The first trainer whose entire team was rendered unable to battle would lose.

Once the rules were explained, Vivian took the stage again and addressed the audience: "Before the competition begins, our host, Gym Leader Shimizu, and Champion Diantha will perform an exhibition match for everyone!"

The mont Vivian finished speaking, the crowd erupted in loud cheers. Who wouldn't want to see a battle between Champion-level Trainers?

Amidst the enthusiastic applause, Yuga and Diantha walked onto the stage.

"Let's have a great match," Yuga said politely to Diantha.

"Looking forward to it," Diantha replied with a warm smile.

"Begin!" announced Vivian.

At her cue, both trainers tossed their Poké Balls into the air. Two Pokémon appeared as red light flashed across the stage, their cries echoing—one fierce and roaring, the other gentle and composed.

Yuga sent out his Charizard, while Diantha sent out her Aurorus. Both trainers had tacitly agreed not to use their Champion-tier Pokémon in this setting.

Using their ace Pokémon in such an event would indeed be inappropriate.

To further excite the crowd, Yuga took out his Key Stone and called to Charizard, "Let's ga Evolve, Charizard!"

As a dazzling rainbow glow surrounded Charizard, it completed its ga Evolution. This ti, however, it didn't transform into the usual ga Charizard Y. Instead, using a ga Stone gifted by Shiftry, it evolved into ga Charizard X.

ga Charizard X's typing changed from Fire/Flying to Fire/Dragon, and its ability beca Tough Claws, replacing Charizard's Blaze and ga Charizard Y's Drought.

The ga Evolution drew another wave of thunderous cheers from the audience. Even Diantha's eyes widened in surprise, though she was more excited than anything else.

Yuga made the first move.

"Roarrr!"

ga Charizard X let out a ferocious roar and surged toward Aurorus with its claws glowing with blue fla, ready to strike. The Tough Claws ability significantly amplified its close-range combat power.

But as a Pokémon raised by a Champion, Aurorus was anything but defenseless. It swiftly erected a Reflect barrier. Although Charizard's attack forced Aurorus to retreat a few steps, the Pokémon retaliated with an Ice Beam that sent ga Charizard X flying backward.

While Charizard was thrown back, Aurorus used its speed to cast Hail, changing the weather to snow—perfectly suited to its abilities.

Recovering quickly, ga Charizard X unleashed a Flathrower at Aurorus, while Aurorus countered with another Ice Beam. The red pillar of fire and the bluish-white beam collided midair, creating a massive plu of white steam. However, before the steam could dissipate, the frigid temperature caused it to crystallize into tiny ice particles that fell to the ground.

Aurorus displayed expert control over the Hail weather. Under its command, the snowstorm was confined to the stage, leaving the audience entirely unaffected.

When the energy clash ended, ga Charizard X instantly reappeared beside Aurorus, swinging its tail in a powerful Dragon Tail attack.

Aurorus reacted quickly, stomping its front feet to raise an Ice Wall from the ground. Charizard's tail slamd into the wall, shattering it into icy powder, but Aurorus remained unhard behind its barrier.