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

Chapter 1176: How About Tax Exemption?

Three days after the arrival of the League Headquarters' Minister of Foreign Affairs in Alola, the Aether Foundation and the League jointly announced to the public that from now on, the Aether Foundation would become a part of the League.

When the news was released, many people were taken aback and marveled at the speed of the League's actions, especially the locals of Alola.

Yuga attended the press conference where the League and the Aether Foundation made the official announcement. Although he didn't know the specifics of what the Foreign Affairs Minister had discussed with Lusamine, one thing was certain: the League had agreed to help her in the search for Dr. Mohn.

Afterward, Yuga met privately with the Minister, who expressed his gratitude for Yuga's assistance in the matter.

With the Aether Foundation's affairs settled, Yuga took a flight back to Hoenn. Though he hadn't been away for long, he felt a deep sense of familiarity upon returning home.

Once home, Yuga distributed the gifts he'd brought back from Alola to everyone. When he saw his aunt, he almost got scolded.

Yuga had instructed the Investigation Bureau not to inform his aunt and uncle about Luna's disappearance in Alola until everything was resolved, making him the "culprit" behind keeping them in the dark.

Previously, his aunt had been wary of Luna working at the Investigation Bureau due to concerns about the risks involved. Yuga assumed that after learning about this incident, his aunt would react strongly and demand that Luna leave her position.

However, aside from giving Yuga a lecture, his aunt had no other reaction. In the end, it was his uncle who told him that she had come to terms with it.

Luna had grown up and was no longer the little girl who needed constant protection. It was time for them, as parents, to let go and let her explore the world on her own.

After having a heartfelt conversation with his aunt and uncle, Yuga went to the Ecopark to settle the Pokémon he had brought back from Alola.

The Oricorio were first, naturally finding a new home in the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark.

With Florges, the super "gardener," the four-color flower seeds Yuga brought back from Melemele Meadow took root, sprouted, and blossomed into beautiful flowers in no time.

Thanks to the four-color flowers, the four Oricorio quickly adapted to life in the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark.

At the moment the Pa'u Style Oricorio settled in, Yuga heard the system notification that his side mission was complete—he had obtained the universal Pokéblock recipe for Electric-type Pokémon.

With that, Yuga had collected every Pokéblock recipe.

After claiming the side mission reward, a new side mission appeared on his system task icon.

...

[ Side Mission: Hone Yourself. (Accept) ]

[ Description: As the owner of YoYo Day Care, the host must always maintain a lifelong learning attitude. You can never have too many skills. Keep striving, host! ]

[ Requirements: Raise your Pokéblock-making skill to an advanced level. ]

[ Reward: Pokéblock Crafting Tutorial Video. ]

...

Reading the details of this side mission, Yuga couldn't help but chuckle. The system knew how to push him! He had only just collected all the Pokéblock recipes, and it was already urging him to improve his crafting skills. The system really knew how to take advantage of every opportunity.

Yuga opened the icon for host information and scrolled down to the skills section under his profile. There, it was plainly listed: Pokéblock Crafting (Intermediate), Pokémon Breeding (Intermediate).

The gap between intermediate and advanced levels was significant, and advancing this skill to the advanced level would not yield results in just a day or two.

Since hiring Misaki and the others at the Pokemon Day Care, Yuga hadn't made Pokéblock himself in a long time. His goal was to be a laid-back boss, but apparently, the system wouldn't allow that.

Is it really not satisfying to just be a hands-off manager? Why must he do this tiring and demanding work?

Looking at the mission reward, Yuga suddenly asked, "Hey, if I'm already advancing my Pokéblock-making skill to the advanced level, then what use is this tutorial video?" He felt the system's reward was rather uninspired.

The system replied, "There's a level above advanced: top-level. The tutorial video is a shortcut to guide you toward becoming a master of top-level Pokéblock crafting."

"Top-level master? That impressive?" Yuga exclaimed.

Pokéblock crafting is a sub-discipline in the breeder profession, and reaching the top level is considered expert status.

Even when using the same Pokéblock recipe, different people will produce varying qualities, and the higher the quality, the higher the price they can fetch.

Currently, Misaki's Pokéblock-making skill is only at the advanced level, and her Pokéblock are the most expensive items at YoYo Day Care.

As for Anya, her skill level is around intermediate, not much different from Yuga's own.

If YoYo Day Care could cultivate its own top-level Pokéblock Master, the business would surely thrive.

However, while advanced-level crafters are common, top-level masters are incredibly rare—those who reach such a level usually have a legacy or mentorship to follow.

According to the system, this tutorial video seemed to be a type of legacy.

With the system's products, quality was guaranteed, so Yuga was confident the video would be valuable.

"Once I get this reward, can I share it with others?" Yuga quickly asked the system.

[ Of course. Once the reward is given to the host, it's entirely yours to handle as you see fit. ]

Upon hearing this, Yuga accepted the side mission without hesitation. Since the system missions had no time limit or penalty, he was no fool—he'd take his time and eventually raise his Pokéblock-making skill to advanced.

Yuga decided that from now on, he'd set aside a little time each day to craft Pokéblock. He couldn't continue to be a laid-back boss like before.

After accepting the mission, Yuga headed to the Insect Paradise Sub-Ecopark and released the Golisopod and Wimpod he'd caught.

Before settling the Wimpod, Yuga used Innovation potions on each of them. Out of the thirty yellow potential Wimpod, eleven of them successfully evolved to green potential, a success rate of less than forty percent.

Still, Yuga was quite satisfied; while not exceptionally lucky, he hadn't had terrible luck either.

Since both Wimpod and Golisopod were Water-type Pokémon accustomed to living in water, Yuga placed them in the lake beneath the Bug Nest.

As for the Wimpod that was failed to improve their potential, Yuga would eventually move them to the new Ecopark. He didn't plan to sell them for the time being. Selling just these dozen or so wouldn't bring much value; it would be better to wait until they were bred in greater numbers. Then, whether they were sold in the new shop or outsourced to a partnering small Pokémon Day Care, it would be a good choice.

Next was the arrangement for the Alolan Persian and her child.

Typically, land-dwelling Pokémon were placed in the Grassland Sub-Ecopark, so naturally, the Alolan Persian and her child were no exception. After leading them to the Grassland Sub-Ecopark, Yuga introduced them to the caretakers there, the Blissey, who would take care of everything for them.

After leaving the Grassland Sub-Ecopark, Yuga returned to the Main Ecopark, planning to place the Nihilego Pokémon egg from his system bag there.

Under the guidance of Blissey and Wigglytuff, the Alolan Persian and her children quickly adapted to their new environment in the Grassland Sub-Ecopark and were enjoying it greatly.

As Wigglytuff departed, Alolan Persian continued exploring with Meowth and Rockruff in tow, catching the eye of a Persian nearby.

Persian was instantly captivated by Alolan Persian's "graceful" figure, feeling as if it had found true love.

The fact that Persian already had three Delcatty wives speaks to its restless nature, so it was no surprise it was drawn to Alolan Persian.

"Meow!"

Persian approached Alolan Persian with what it believed to be an "elegant" stride and gave a call it thought was full of affection, only to receive a dismissive look from Alolan Persian.

What's with this guy? What a weirdo! Alolan Persian gave a contemptuous glance at the lovestruck Persian, then turned around to lead Meowth and Rockruff away.

Compared to regular Persian, Alolan Persian has slightly droopy eyelids, giving it a naturally aloof, disdainful look. Coupled with its Dark-type, this haughty face often makes it appear intimidating.

Indeed, Alolan Persian in the wild often use this look to bully the weak.

But the look Alolan Persian had just given Persian didn't make it feel overpowered—it sent a thrill down its spine.

Wow, what intensity! I'm into this!

Thus, Persian began following Alolan Persian.

Having survived on her own with two children, Alolan Persian was far from patient. Noticing this tag-along, she wasted no time and launched an attack.

Persian was no match for Alolan Persian and was soon left battered and bruised.

This scene of Alolan Persian beating up Persian happened to catch the eye of Sneasel, who was exploring the Grassland Sub-Ecopark with Bunnelby to scout the area. Sneasel's eyes lit up and it naturally ran over to chat with Alolan Persian and her kids.

Both being cat-like Pokémon and of the Dark type, Alolan Persian took an immediate liking to Sneasel, and soon Sneasel and the mother and her two children became friends.

Sneasel had long held a grudge against Persian but wasn't strong enough to get revenge. However, being cunning, it had no qualms about letting others help teach Persian a lesson.

Once it had bonded with Alolan Persian, Sneasel eagerly began bad-mouthing Persian.

Alolan Persian already had a poor first impression of Persian and liked Sneasel, so she trusted Sneasel's words without question.

The Grassland Sub-Ecopark had no shortage of Pokémon who disliked Persian either; Persian's past tendency to bully others was well-known, something Sneasel fully understood. Thus, Sneasel could "casually" call on other Pokémon to confirm its story.

And so, Persian officially made it onto Alolan Persian's blacklist.

After being beaten by Alolan Persian, Persian lay flat on the ground like a dead fish. His three Delcatty mates came over to comfort him, but he remained unresponsive, his mind filled with thoughts of Alolan Persian's every move and expression.

At that moment, Luxray passed by with his four Ampharos wives, glanced dismissively at Persian, and thought him utterly pathetic.

As the only two Pokémon in the Ecopark with harems, Persian and Luxray were well-acquainted, often keeping an eye on each other, intentionally or not.

Luxray looked down on Persian, feeling superior due to having one more mate and stronger abilities. Persian was irritated, but what could he do? Luxray was an elite-level Pokémon, while Persian hadn't even reached pseudo-elite level and couldn't beat him.

Meanwhile, Yuga had just taken out all the Nihilego Pokémon eggs from his system backpack when two of them started to glow.

"Are they about to hatch? What a coincidence," Yuga said, surprised.

"They are indeed hatching," replied Nana, who had lived in the Ecopark for a long time and was very familiar with the signs of an egg about to hatch.

Soon, two Nihilego eggs hatched successfully, revealing two small, delicate Nihilego. Compared to the adult Nihilego Yuga had seen in the Ultra Space, these young Nihilego looked innocent and adorable.

After hatching, the two Nihilego floated into the air. Although Yuga couldn't see their eyes, he could sense they were surely curious about this new world.

Knowing that Nihilego had unpredictable personalities, Yuga decided to raise them carefully, planning to nurture them to be friendly through early education.

More precisely, it was a matter of cultivating them.

Yuga had brought back about a hundred Nihilego eggs this time, so he decided to entrust their upbringing to Nana, who spent more time in the Ecopark and was better suited to the task.

The two newly hatched Nihilego were very attached to Yuga and Nana, who were the first beings they saw, vastly different from the sly, ferocious Nihilego Yuga had encountered in the Ultra Space.

As Ultra Beasts, Nihilego were quite distinct from regular Pokémon. They didn't have individual quality levels, but with the right kind of high-quality training, each one could reach an exceptionally high level.

Therefore, Yuga hadn't yet decided how to handle them. Selling them like regular Pokémon was out of the question—it would be a terrible waste.

After interacting with the newborn Nihilego for a while, Yuga left the Ecopark. But as soon as he stepped out, he received a call from Steven.

"You did a fantastic job in Alola this time! The League Headquarters has a very high opinion of you, and our Hoenn branch is delighted as well. Both sides are planning to reward you. Is there anything you'd like? If so, feel free to tell me, and I'll report it to the higher-ups," Steven said enthusiastically.

"You want me to make a request?" Yuga asked, surprised.

"That's right. Having the Aether Foundation merge into the League has saved the League a lot of trouble," Steven remarked, with a touch of admiration.

"In that case, I'll have to think carefully," Yuga replied thoughtfully before adding, "Actually, I've got an idea. How about asking the League to waive the tax for my YoYo Day Care?"