Chapter 959: Achievements
After the Mayor of the Jade Town explained everything, Yuga and his group followed the clues he provided and found something in the ruins of the destroyed Jade Mountain Relic, referred to as the "god's remains" by the descendants of the Darkness clan.
It's unclear whether Team Rocket had discovered this object or simply had no interest in it, but when Yuga and his team found it, it was buried deep within the ruins.
This object is a pile of jumbled bones, entwined with the black mist that remained on Shadow Lugia's body, making it impossible to determine what kind of Pokémon it was in its previous life.
However, Professor Oak was quite interested in this discovery and decided to take it back for further research.
He promptly reported the events in Jade Town to the League, which led to the arrest of the Jade Town Mayor.
Due to his concealment, which indirectly led to the capture of Lugia by Team Rocket, he was considered as a criminal.
Sora, who was also a Gym Leader in Jade Town, technically shared some responsibility, but the Mayor might have felt guilty for deceiving Sora, so he took full responsibility, sparing Sora from punishment.
Due to the Jade Town incident, Yuga extended his stay in Johto for a few more days, ensuring that all matters were resolved before returning to Hoenn.
Shortly after his return to Hoenn, he discovered that his Trainer rank in the League had been upgraded from Senior Trainer to Honor Trainer.
The League's Trainer ranks are based on accumulated merits, with the hierarchy progressing from Regular Trainer, Elite Trainer, Senior Trainer, Honor Trainer, to Hall of Fame Trainer.
Yuga had already been a Senior Trainer for a while, but thanks to the mission in Jade Town, he had earned enough merits to be promoted to Honor Trainer.
Honor Trainers are the highest rank within the League's Trainer hierarchy, one level below the Hall of Fame Trainer which is belong to Elite Four and the Champion.
Hall of Fame Trainers receive various privileges, such as a 50% discount at League stores when purchasing items.
Despite the loss of Lugia and the destruction of the Jade Mountain Relic, Yuga's mission could be seen as a success, as they uncovered the secrets of the Darkness clan.
Additionally, this mission exposed them to Team Rocket's true capabilities and revealed the existence of an unknown Pokémon on par with the Level 1 Legendary Pokemon, Mewtwo.
This newfound knowledge allowed Yuga to accumulate enough merits to reach the rank of Honor Trainer.
As for the investigation into Team Rocket, both the Kanto and Johto regions took the threat more seriously and established a special task force to uncover Team Rocket's activities, led by Lance, with a focus on investigating Team Rocket.
However, Yuga's direct involvement in these matters was limited.
Back in Hoenn, Yuga stayed in Verdanturf Town without leaving, focusing on training his Pokémon, managing his business, and accepting challenges from aspiring Trainers.
Then, in June, the highly anticipated Champion's Tournament began.
The Champion's Tournament lasted for half a year, from June to December, and it was a private event. The public had no idea about the tournament's progress until it officially concluded.
However, Yuga's mentor, Mr. Kuni'o, was always well-informed about the latest developments in the tournament and closely followed the results.
At the beginning of the Champion's Tournament, Devon had great confidence in Steven's abilities. They began fulfilling their agreement with Yuga, investing substantial sums of money into the development of Verdanturf Town.
By December, the Champion's Tournament had concluded, and Steven, living up to expectations, claimed the title of Hoenn League Champion. His strength had already reached Champion level before the tournament.
With Mr. Kuni'o's support, the transition to Steven's role as Champion went smoothly.
During this time, Verdanturf Town, with Devon's support, underwent a remarkable transformation.
Firstly, the town's territory expanded as more outlying lands were developed, and multiple transportation routes were extended to connect Verdanturf Town with other cities, greatly improving accessibility.
The expansion of transportation infrastructure played a crucial role in facilitating the town's development, adhering to the principle that building roads comes before becoming rich.
Another major change was in the planning of specialty agriculture.
Verdanturf Town's development primarily focused on specialty agriculture.
Previously, agriculture in Verdanturf Town lacked scientific planning. Each household acted independently, making it challenging to establish large-scale production.
Devon, during his support for Verdanturf Town's development, enlisted the expertise of numerous agricultural specialists. They provided professional guidance and allocated specific tasks for farming.
Land suitable for growing flowers was designated exclusively for that purpose, while those suited for grains, vegetables, and fruit trees had their designated caretakers.
The town's residents enthusiastically cooperated with Mayor Ishida's new development plan, and under the guidance of agricultural experts, Verdanturf Town rapidly transformed in just over half a year.
In addition, Devon adopted Yuga's idea for a butterfly Pokémon promotion plan. With their financial support, and YoYo Day Care responsible for breeding, every household in Verdanturf Town received a butterfly Pokémon to assist with agricultural cultivation.
However, Devon's company wasn't doing this without benefit. They took responsibility for the purchase and sale of the agricultural products produced in Verdanturf Town.
These products were cultivated with the assistance of Grass-type Pokémon from YoYo Day Care, resulting in natural, pollution-free, and delicious crops that were easy to sell. This arrangement created a win-win situation for Devon and Verdanturf Town.
As Verdanturf Town thrived, the business of YoYo Day Care expanded further. In just over six months, Yuga introduced three rare Pokémon for sale: Medidite, Swablu, and Vullaby. Each of these Pokémon was introduced every two months.
Medidite, Swablu, and Vullaby were all rare species, and their introduction generated considerable interest. YoYo Day Care's reputation expanded, especially in other regions.
Initially, the company's reputation was largely confined to the Hoenn region, but after the success of the Wallace Cup, YoYo Day Care became associated with Verdanturf Town and was considered a symbol of the town.
Tourists visiting Verdanturf Town from other areas would often say, "Ah, this is where YoYo Day Care is located! We must pay a visit." Inadvertently, YoYo Day Care became a symbol of Verdanturf Town.
As Verdanturf Town's tourism industry improved, YoYo Day Care's visibility and reputation grew.
Verdanturf Town was an ideal place for a holiday, and its sanatorium was already famous even before development. With Devon's involvement in the town's development, its reputation naturally expanded.
Having witnessed Verdanturf Town's remarkable progress, Yuga as the Gym Leader, couldn't help but feel a great sense of accomplishment.
During this half-year period, in addition to managing his business and observing the town's development, most of Yuga's energy was dedicated to the cultivation of Revival Herbs.
Cultivating Revival Herbs was not an easy task, and the Revival Herbs he brought back from Nameless Island were specially planted in a newly established medicinal field, which he carefully tended to daily.
Initially, the Revival Herbs he planted seemed to wither, possibly due to Yuga's less-than-professional transplantation techniques, and some nearly didn't survive.
Thankfully, Florges managed to revive them. Later, Yuga discovered that, as long as Florges used her abilities on the Revival Herb field periodically, the Revival Herbs grew more vigorously.
What the Ho-oh's flames could do, Yuga found that his Florges could do as well, living up to her divinity.
As for the Revival Herb seeds gifted by Nidoking, Yuga found it much easier to grow them. With experience, he planted them, and they sprouted successfully within a short time, with a 100% germination rate.
Regarding the Moon Stones enveloped with Revival Herb energy, Yuga had not yet figured out their specific function, so he handed them over to three Malamar for research.
However, the Malamar had no time to investigate the Moon Stones; they were engrossed in researching the Supreme-grade Evolution Stones that Yuga had assigned to them.
Since taking on this task, the three Malamar had been tirelessly researching, and although Yuga wasn't aware of the specific progress, he heard from the Meowstic that their research had yielded some results.
Back when the Meowstic served under the Malamar, although the Malamar made them their lab assistants, they often kept the details of their experiments secret. The Meowstic hardly learned anything during that time.
However, after the Meowstic became the supervisors of the Malamar and actively participated in their research, things changed. The Malamar allowed them to be involved in the entire research process, answered questions when asked, and the Meowstic gradually acquired a wealth of knowledge from the Malamar.
Surprisingly, these three Malamar were not well-behaved individuals, but they were extremely devoted to scientific research, never resorting to deception. Yuga appreciated this about them.
Psychic-type Pokémon were known for their intelligence, and while the Meowstic's potential was lacking, and they didn't usually train, spending most of their time with the Malamar in the lab, they had begun to exhibit the spirit of researchers.
One day, while Yuga and Florges were checking the growth of the Revival Herbs in the herb field, Dartrix suddenly flew in, reporting that the Meowstic had an urgent matter to discuss.
Not long after Yuga returned from Johto, Rowlet evolved into Dartrix. During these six months, Yuga had been paying significant attention to training Dartrix, along with Snover and Kartana. Now, all three of them had made remarkable progress in their strength.
Upon hearing Dartrix's message, Yuga promptly put down his work and, with Dartrix, headed for the Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark.
When Yuga arrived at the laboratory in the Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark, he found not only the three Malamar, two Meowstic, and several Magnemite responsible for powering the laboratory but also three Lapras.
"Lapras!"
"Lapras..."
"Lapras! Lapras?"
The moment Yuga stepped into the lab, he witnessed three Malamar excitedly waving their tentacles at the three Lapras. If their powers hadn't been sealed by Deoxys, Yuga would have suspected they were about to shred the Lapras before his eyes.
Seeing Yuga enter, the two Meowstic immediately ran to his side and began enthusiastically explaining their research findings.
After listening to the Meowstic's report, Yuga turned his amazed gaze towards the three Lapras and activated his Insight.
...
Lapras (1)
Type: Water/Ice
Ability: Water Absorb
Gender: Female
Potential: Yellow
Level: 20
Moves: Sing, Water Gun, Growl, Water Pulse, Ice Beam
...
Lapras (2)
Type: Water/Ice
Ability: Water Absorb
Gender: Female
Potential: Yellow
Level: 26
Moves: Sing, Growl, Haze, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Foresight
...
Lapras (3)
Type: Water/Ice
Ability: Shell Armor
Gender: Male
Potential: Green
Level: 31
Moves: Sing, Growl, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Icy Wind, Ice Beam, Dragon Pulse
...
The Lapras in Yuga's Ecopark belonged to the same family as his main Pokémon, Lapras, and were brought from the Team Aqua's branch laboratory. Yuga was well aware of their potentials, which were mostly red or orange, with no green potential Lapras in sight.
But here before him was a Lapras with a green potential.
"Is this your research result?" Yuga asked the Meowstic excitedly.
While he had heard the Meowstic mention that they had made some progress in their research, he hadn't anticipated such a huge surprise.
The Meowstic nodded, then retrieved a slender vial from the laboratory's freezer, containing a pale blue liquid.
The excited Malamar had calmed down by this point. They saw the Meowstic presenting their achievement to Yuga and wore expressions of pride, eagerly awaiting Yuga's praise.
Taking the vial from the Meowstic, Yuga observed the pale blue liquid while listening to the Meowstic's report on the experiment's process.
Since the three Malamar had received the Supreme-grade Ice Stone that Yuga had given them, they had been diligently researching. They found the same unique substance in the Supreme-grade Ice Stone, Supreme-grade Leaf Stone, Moon Stone, and Sun Stone that Yuga later gave them.
However, extracting this special substance was challenging, and it couldn't be separated independently. Each extraction would carry the energy from the Evolution stone, and once extracted, it was difficult to separate the substance from the energy. The substance, enveloped and attached to the energy, proved difficult to study for its unique properties.
One time, the female Meowstic accidentally mixed the Ghost Sea Sea Water used for research in the lab with the special substance extracted by the Malamar. Shortly afterward, the Malamar discovered that the energy attached to the special substance was rapidly disappearing and dissolving.
Moreover, under the influence of Ghost Sea Sea Water, this substance began to regenerate at a high speed, resembling microorganisms, quickly multiplying.
Ghost Sea Sea Water was not real water but a special substance capable of absorbing life energy, and no one would have anticipated its reaction with the special substance in the Supreme-grade Evolution Stones.
Subsequent research revealed that this special substance within the Supreme-grade Evolution Stones was the key to changing a Pokémon's potential.
Further study showed that this particular substance in the Supreme-grade Evolution Stones, although not a microorganism itself, was a secretion of a special extinct microorganism in the Pokémon world. This secretion acted as a protection mechanism for the microorganisms that produced it, much like coral secretion protecting the microorganisms creating coral.
While this secretion could alter a Pokémon's potential, it was not easily absorbed by Pokémon themselves, which is why it would be absorbed by Pokémon through the Evolution Stones acting as a medium.
Extracting this substance from the Supreme-grade Evolution Stones would not allow it to be put back into the stones, so the Malamar found another method, utilizing the elemental energy separated in the four prisms within the laboratory.
Once this special substance was turned into a potion using these elemental energies, it could be easily absorbed by Pokémon.
However, there was one catch. When extracting this substance from Supreme-grade Evolution Stones, then using Ghost Sea Sea Water to multiply it, even though one Supreme-grade Evolution Stone could make several bottles of the potion, the potion's effect was not as potent as the Supreme-grade Evolution Stones.
Originally, one Supreme-grade Evolution Stone could elevate a Pokémon from green potential to blue potential, whereas the potion could only raise the potential from yellow to green, and it was not a guaranteed success. This could be seen as trading quantity for quality.
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