Chapter 28: Flannery
Early the next morning, Yuga called his aunt house to let them know he was heading back today.
Yuga aunt and her family were overly concerned about him due to his parents' recent passing.
Little did they know that this "Yuga" was no longer the same as before, and things weren't as severe as they thought.
Nevertheless, Yuga appreciated their concern and decided to go along with it, making sure to keep them informed about his plans to avoid unnecessary worries.
After ending the call with his aunt, Yuga had breakfast at the Pokémon Center.
Once he finished breakfast, he checked out of his room at the Pokémon Center and headed to the Day Care Center.
The Day Care Center opened early, and when Yuga arrived, the place was already bustling with activity.
The same Pokémon caretaker from yesterday, Carey, received Yuga. Carey said, "Mr. Shimizu, please come with me to confirm your selected Pokémon eggs. If everything is in order, we'll load them onto a vehicle and deliver them to Verdanturf Town."
"Sure, thank you."
Carey then led Yuga to a room where neatly arranged Pokémon eggs were displayed.
There were several such rooms in the Day Care Center, used for storing Pokémon eggs for clients who hadn't collected them yet.
After verifying the number and quality of the eggs, Yuga instructed the staff to start loading the eggs onto the vehicle.
While this was happening, Director Mond, whom Yuga had met yesterday, arrived. Upon seeing Yuga, he waved and said, "Hey, Yuga, did you have fun yesterday?"
Caught off guard, Yuga remembered that he had told Director Mond he was planning to explore Lavaridge Town.
Feeling a bit embarrassed for lying, Yuga chuckled and said, "Yeah, it was great. Lavaridge Town is a really nice place."
Hearing Yuga praise his hometown, Director Mond laughed heartily and said, "Absolutely, it's a well-known tourist spot. You're welcome to visit again anytime."
"Definitely, I will."
After the eggs were loaded, the Day Care Center arranged for them to be delivered to YoYo Pokémon Daycare in Verdanturf Town.
Instead of riding back with the delivery vehicle, Yuga decided to take the same route he came from.
It wasn't because he felt superstitious about his parents' accident, but simply because the shortcut was closer.
To travel from Lavaridge Town to Verdanturf Town by car, one needed to take Route 112, then switch to Route 111 to reach Lilycove City, and from there, take Route 117 to Verdanturf Town.
However, Yuga could easily reach Verdanturf Town by taking the shortcut through the Fiery Path. Even on foot, it was faster than driving.
Plus, he wanted to take Floette out for some training in the wild. Its battling capabilities were weak and practically useless.
After bidding farewell to Director Mond and the others, Yuga left Lavaridge Town and followed the path leading to the Fiery Path tunnel.
He continued his journey with Floette and Absol, battling wild Pokémon along the way and using Floette Heal Pulse to treat any injuries.
As for Murkrow, he didn't release it.
They weren't his main battling team, and managing too many Pokémon at once was challenging for Yuga.
While Floette was in the middle of defeating a Oddish, Yuga suddenly heard someone calling him from behind.
"Hey, mister in front! Are you a Pokémon Trainer?"
Turning around, Yuga saw a young girl with long red hair tied into a ponytail standing behind him. She had a Cyndaquil by her side.
"Yeah, I'm a Trainer. What can I do for you, little sister?"
Curious as to why a young girl was out in the wild alone with a Cyndaquil, Yuga was taken aback when the girl suddenly jumped with excitement.
"Awesome! Big brother, come and have hot-blooded Pokémon battle with me."
As she said this, she struck a pose that she probably thought was cool, but to Yuga, it exuded a sense of adolescence.
"You're a Trainer too, little sister?"
"Yep, I just became a Trainer. But I've had Pokémon for a while now. Look, this is my first Pokémon, Cyndaquil."
"Cyndaquil!"
Her Cyndaquil chimed in with a call, making its presence known.
So, she's a new Trainer, Yuga thought.
Feeling a bit awkward, Yuga said to the girl, "Alright, I've only just become a Trainer too. We can battle, but please go easy on me."
"Aw!"
Upon hearing Yuga words, the girl exclaimed.
"Big brother, you're pretty old for just starting out as a Trainer, huh? Poor you."
It was as though an invisible arrow struck Yuga heart. She had seen right through him without saying a word.
"Uh... hahaha..."
Yuga chuckled awkwardly.
"Alright, alright, I'll go easy on you. I should've known better than to challenge you. Who would've thought you're a complete newbie."
The little girl impatiently retorted.
At this point, Yuga felt like an arrow had pierced his chest, and he sensed a fiery rage building within him.
Damn, where did this little brat come from? Her words are so venomous.
Yuga glanced at Cyndaquil.
<<Cyndaquil>>
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Potential: Green
Level: 28
Moves: Quick Attack, Swift, Tackle, Smokescreen, Ember, Reversal.
After reading through, Yuga thought, "Damn, I might really be a newbie."
Absol followed him out of gratitude, and Floette, his starter Pokémon, had been with him for four years. Despite this, Floette was only at level 21 and couldn't even compare to this little girl Cyndaquil.
This was even after Floette had gained several levels from using a Rare Candy.
However, upon further thought, Yuga wondered about the little girl. Her Pokémon level, potential, and moves were quite unusual.
Normally, a Pokémon like Cyndaquil would have evolved by now. Yuga wasn't surprised, though; he knew his Floette could evolve instantly with a Sun Stone, which he had, but he hadn't rushed it.
Additionally, the green potential, was it really so easy to come by?
The move slots were also unusual. His own Absol had green potential and a higher level than this Cyndaquil, yet it only had five moves.
This girl was clearly what one would call a "rich kid." Yuga thought to himself.
"What's your name, little sister?"
"Oh, I'm Flannery. Anyway, let's start our battle!"
After hearing Flannery words, Yuga finally knew who she was.
He marveled at how small the world was. He met her grandfather just yesterday and now, he was meeting the granddaughter.
This was none other than Flannery, the current Fire-type Master and the future leader of Lavaridge Gym.
Although Yuga had seen the anime and knew that the future Gym Leader was named Flannery, he had completely forgotten her appearance.
"You're really Flannery? Is your grandpa Mr. Moore?"
Yuga asked to confirm.
"Ah, you know my grandpa?"
Flannery was surprised that this big brother in front of her knew her grandpa.
"Your grandpa is the current Fire-type Master, known by everyone."
"Yesterday, I met your grandpa, and this Vulpix was actually a gift from him to me."
Saying that, Yuga released Vulpix Mr. Moore had given him.
Flannery and Vulpix clearly knew each other. Vulpix let out a cry towards Flannery, and Flannery was equally astonished, saying:
"Truly Grandpa Vulpix. He had mentioned giving me one before, but I didn't expect it to end up with you."
Yuga hadn't anticipated such a connection, and he awkwardly scratched his nose.
"Is that so? My apologies."
Flannery, however, seemed entirely unaffected by the matter.
"No worries. Grandpa has plenty of Pokémon, he'll definitely give me an even better one someday. By the way, my Cyndaquil was also a gift from him."
Yuga thought, "No wonder this Cyndaquil is so exceptional. It might very well be a descendant of Elite Typhlosion by Mr. Moore side."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone