I'm the Owner of the Pokémon Day Care In the World of Pokémon

Chapter 1140: Am I related to Dawn?

In recent years, the Blue Sky Day Care had been developing quite well. Not only did they establish their own Ecopark, but the variety of Pokémon being bred there had also grown more diverse. Skorupi and Drapion were the Pokémon they had put the most effort into cultivating.

Blue Sky Day Care wanted to introduce new Pokémon, and of course, YoYo Day Care was interested as well. So, Yuga immediately agreed to Reggie's proposal.

Considering the actual conditions at Blue Sky Day Care, Yuga didn't recommend Pokémon like Amaura, which had extremely high habitat requirements, nor did he suggest Aron, which was extremely costly to raise.

After much deliberation, Yuga ultimately decided to trade five pairs of Altaria for seven pairs of Drapion from Reggie. Both the Altaria and Drapion they exchanged were adults, fully capable of reproducing immediately.

Altaria were more valuable than Drapion, so Yuga traded five pairs for Reggie's seven pairs.

Yuga chose to trade Altaria for Drapion with Reggie for two reasons: First, Altaria didn't have high habitat requirements. Although Blue Sky Day Care had an Ecopark, it wasn't advanced and lacked the ability to simulate extreme or specialized environments. Second, Altaria could interbreed with Staraptor, which Blue Sky Day Care excelled at cultivating, making breeding much easier.

Although interbreeding Altaria with Staraptor would gradually dilute the Dragon-type bloodline in their offspring, given Blue Sky Day Care's current conditions, they couldn't afford to be picky.

Raising Dragon-type Pokémon like Altaria was certainly not easy, but Reggie's grandfather had many years of experience breeding Flying-type Pokémon. Since Altaria and Swablu were both Flying-types, with his guidance, Reggie would surely be able to breed more Swablu and Altaria.

After sending the five pairs of Altaria to Reggie, Yuga also shared some of his own insights on breeding Altaria and Swablu from his Ecopark, sparing Reggie the trouble of figuring everything out from scratch.

Breeding tips were something Yuga might keep secret from others, but there was no need to with a close friend like Reggie. Similarly, Reggie shared his own experience breeding Drapion and Skorupi with Yuga.

Just as Blue Sky Day Care needed to breed Altaria alongside other Flying-type Pokémon, Yuga also needed to breed Drapion with other Bug-type Pokémon.

Although Drapion wasn't a Bug-type, it was in the Bug egg group, and its initial form, Skorupi, was a Bug-type Pokémon.

The Drapion that Blue Sky Day Care sent over were all fully mature and capable of immediate reproduction, but with only seven pairs, Yuga had no choice but to breed them alongside other Pokémon.

One thing that left Yuga conflicted was that, aside from pairing Drapion with Bug-types, it would also be highly suitable to breed them with Flygon and Gliscor (even though they weren't Bug-types, they shared the Bug egg group).

Flygon and Gliscor were among the earliest Pokémon to reproduce in Yuga's Ecopark, especially Flygon, which lived in the Dragon Cave Sub-Ecopark. Its genes had gradually stabilized, and the offspring produced from breeding them with Drapion would undoubtedly be exceptional.

However, after some thought, Yuga ultimately ruled out Flygon. Just as interbreeding Altaria and Staraptor would dilute Swablu's Dragon-type bloodline, interbreeding Flygon and Drapion would also dilute the Trapinch line's Dragon-type bloodline.

But Yuga also wanted to raise Scyther, Pinsir, and the Heracross that Steven had just sent over. Although Yuga's Ecopark already had some of these Pokémon, their numbers were too few, and they hadn't yet achieved any significant results.

These three Pokémon were top-tier among Bug-types, and Yuga was counting on them to carry the flag for Bug-type Pokémon at YoYo Day Care in the future!

If these three Pokémon could be bred alongside Drapion, the difficulty of breeding them would surely be greatly reduced.

Yuga was torn—should he breed Skorupi with Gliscor to produce even stronger Skorupi, or breed Drapion alongside Bug-types to produce more Scyther, Pinsir, and Heracross?

After much consideration, Yuga decided to first breed Drapion alongside Scyther and the others. After all, he still had a system task to complete.

When the numbers of these Pokémon increased over time, he could reconsider his options later.

So, Yuga took Drapion to the Insect Paradise Sub-Ecopark and even set aside a special area where Scyther, Pinsir, Heracross, and Drapion could live together.

After living together for a while, they would naturally interbreed and produce offspring.

Actually, the Scyther and Pinsir in Yuga's Ecopark had never really gotten along well, but the concept of "growing fond of each other over time" applies not only to humans but also to Pokémon.

Just in case, Yuga had the Ariados and Galvantula couple move nearby. If anyone caused trouble, this pair would take care of it by stringing up the troublemakers.

Although Ariados and Galvantula weren't among the strongest in the Ecopark, they were still more than capable of handling these younger Pokémon. With them overseeing the area, Yuga wasn't worried.

After leaving the Ecopark, Yuga was informed that there was a challenger at the gym.

With the start of the new year, the number of challengers at various gyms had gradually increased. However, this was the first challenger of the new year for Verdanturf Gym.

Verdanturf Gym had a restriction on challenges: challengers needed to have obtained three badges from other gyms first. Because of this, Verdanturf Gym wasn't usually the first choice for new trainers at the start of the year.

Cheren had been interning at Verdanturf Gym for a while now and had also spent some time teaching the children at the orphanage, so Yuga decided to let him handle the challenger while Yuga observed from the side.

Cheten performed exceptionally well in the challenge. Perhaps due to his time teaching children at Forest Home, he was very good at guiding challengers during the battle, as if it were a practice session with the kids.

After the battles, he would offer sincere suggestions, making the challengers feel like they were being showered with care and advice.

Yuga was very pleased and praised Cheten. He decided to let Cheren handle the upcoming challengers for the time being (so Yuga could take a justified break). Cheren, on the other hand, took this as a sign of Yuga's trust and mentorship, silently vowing to never disappoint him.

That day, Yuga started busying himself early in the morning, helping with preparations alongside Happiny for An Lin, An Mu, and Ryo's trip. They had been planning this journey for a long time, and it was finally about to happen.

Originally, it was only the twin siblings, An Lin and An Mu, who were going on the trip, but Ryo felt it was unfitting for him, as the older brother, to stay home living comfortably while the twins ventured out, so he decided to go on a journey as well.

These kids didn't have any elders to take care of them—Ryo was frequently away from home, and An Ya, their sister, was still a child herself. The only one left to worry about them was Yuga, the gym leader.

There were many things to prepare for a trip, aside from clothes and food. Tents, sleeping bags, pots and pans, energy cubes for their Pokémon, incense for various uses—everything had to be carefully packed.

An Ya was also helping out, taking care of packing the kids' clothes and other items.

Once everything was ready, Yuga, Audino, and An Ya saw them off as they left Verdanturf Town.

The twins and Ryo weren't traveling together; they had split into two groups.

The twins headed in the direction of Mauville City, aiming to participate in this year's Hoenn League Tournament, while Ryo set off for Petalburg City to meet up with May.

May was also about to resume her journey, and upon hearing the news, Yuga asked her to travel with Ryo and help look after him.

Unlike the twins, who had long decided on their goal of setting out for the league, Ryo, though resolved to travel, was still uncertain about his own goals. Whether to participate in the Contest Spectacular, the League Tournament, or simply to venture out for training—he hadn't decided yet.

Yuga didn't force him but simply advised him to think about it slowly during his journey, without rushing.

Although May was about the same age as Ryo, after more than a year of traveling, she had become a reliable trainer. With her traveling alongside Ryo, Yuga felt reassured.

Right after the New Year, May visited the address given to her by the Shep family when they parted ways. It turned out to be the residence of a reclusive member of the People of the Water.

May didn't fully understand the situation of this hermit, and the other person didn't offer many details either, but May had a strong sense that this person was extremely skilled (don't ask how May figured it out—just blame it on their aura being "8-feet tall").

After passing the hermit's test, May was gifted a Mantyke. Upon inspecting it, she found out that it was a Pokémon with indigo potential, which made May incredibly happy.

When Mr. Norman learned about the Mantyke, he wanted to visit the hermit to thank them. However, the hermit refused to see him, and in the end, Norman didn't even get a glimpse of the person.

When Yuga heard that May had received an indigo potential Mantyke, he was both surprised and moved. He had originally planned to give Vivillon's child to her, but now, he thought it might be better not to.

May was still just a beginner trainer, and being able to raise the Mantyke well would already be an impressive feat. Adding another indigo potential Pokémon to her team might overwhelm her with the amount of energy and experience needed to train them properly at the same time.

After seeing off Ryo and the others, Yuga headed back home with Anya and Audino. But as soon as they arrived, his aunt informed him that they had visitors.

Visitors? Yuga was puzzled. Did he have any other relatives besides his aunt? That didn't seem right! Plus, his aunt didn't even recognize them.

If they really were relatives, and his aunt didn't know them, then they couldn't be from his father's side. They had to be relatives from his mother's side.

His aunt led Yuga to the reception room door and said, "You can go in yourself. I need to head back to the shop, so I won't join you."

"Got it, you can go ahead," Yuga nodded and then pushed open the door to the reception room.

Upon entering, Yuga immediately noticed two females, one older and one younger, sitting inside. He recognized them both at first glance.

It was Dawn and her mother.

What's going on? Yuga was completely confused. Did his family have some sort of connection with Dawn's family?

"Hello."

Seeing that Yuga hadn't spoken yet, Dawn's mother, Johanna, greeted him first.

"Um... and you are?" Yuga hesitantly asked.

Johanna smiled and replied, "My name is Johanna, and this is my daughter, Dawn..."

After some explanation, Yuga finally understood that Dawn's family was indeed distantly related to his.

Yuga's grandfather had a cousin, the daughter of Yuga's great-grandfather's brother. This cousin later married and settled in Sinnoh, rarely returning to Hoenn.

When Yuga's grandfather was alive, he kept in contact with his cousin, but after his death, Yuga's mother wasn't close to her, and with the distance between them, they eventually lost contact. At Yuga's grandfather's funeral, Yuga's mother barely spoke with this distant cousin who had traveled from afar.

Yuga's parents didn't keep in touch with her, so Yuga had no idea this branch of the family even existed.

In terms of family hierarchy, Yuga should call his grandfather's cousin "grand-aunt," and Johanna was her daughter.

By Yuga's generation, the two families were separated by three generations, and since they were both daughters married off to other families, they didn't belong to the main family line anymore. They were considered distant relatives, and with the geographical distance, it was natural that there had been no contact.

Thinking back, if Yuga's grand-aunt had fought for inheritance rights, she might have had a claim to a portion of YoYo Day Care. However, she had passed away a few years ago, so there was no point in discussing that now.

Before she died, Yuga's grand-aunt had told Johanna to visit Hoenn if she ever had the chance, and if possible, to reconnect with their distant relatives here.

But Johanna was unfamiliar with this side of the family, and if her mother hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have remembered these relatives at all, so she hadn't thought to make contact.

Johanna's reason for bringing Dawn along this time was purely coincidental.

Recently, the Sinnoh Contest Spectacular organizers were planning a joint event with their Hoenn counterparts. The venue for this event had been set in Verdanturf Town, chosen by Wallace due to the suitability of the grand Contest Hall built there for the Wallace Cup years ago.

There was a lot to discuss before the event, and as a top-tier coordinator, Johanna was chosen by the Sinnoh Contest officials to represent them at the planning meetings, which were also being held in Verdanturf.

Since Johanna had never visited Hoenn before, and now found herself in Verdanturf, she thought she might as well bring Dawn along to visit, leading to today's unexpected reunion.

To prove her identity, Johanna took out a bracelet her mother had left her. As soon as Yuga saw it, he knew Johanna was telling the truth.

Yuga's mother had an identical bracelet, engraved with a unique pattern that was specific to Yuga's grandfather's family. It was this bracelet that had provided the clue for Yuga to find his Wigglytuff back then.

After hearing Johanna's explanation, Yuga was filled with amazement. He never imagined that his family and Dawn's would have such a connection.

"So, what should I call you?" Yuga asked a bit sheepishly.

"You can call me Aunt Johanna," Johanna replied after some thought. Technically, she and Yuga's mother were one generation removed as cousins, so Johanna was essentially Yuga's grandaunt.