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

"When did you set up this place? It's pretty nice," Ninetales asked curiously after landing next to Yuga.

"None of your business!" Yuga replied grumpily. "Can't you behave for once? Look at what you've done, scaring them like that." He pointed at the Aron and Lairon who were trembling from fear.

"What's that got to do with me?" Ninetales snapped, turning its head. "They're just too timid." It hadn't intentionally scared them.

Yuga couldn't be bothered to argue, waving his hand. "Go play, I'm busy. Don't scare the other Pokémon here anymore!"

"Hmph!" Ninetales, displeased with Yuga's attitude, snorted coldly before turning and leaping away, disappearing from Yuga's sight in the blink of an eye.

"Ugh, look at how much more of a temper that guy's got," Yuga grumbled to Coco, pointing at the retreating Ninetales.

"Wigglytuff~"

Maybe it likes you more!

Coco shrugged. Ninetales wasn't like that with them; though it was quite vain, it was friendly to everyone. For some reason, it always liked to argue with Yuga.

"I think it's because I'm easier to bully," Yuga replied with a huff. "I'm its boss, you know. If it does that to me again, I'll dock its pay!"

As Yuga continued to complain about Ninetales, he led Coco to meet several senior members of the Aggron clan.

The Aggron clan were much more considerate than Ninetales. Knowing that Coco would be in charge of their resource allocation, they were all very enthusiastic towards Coco, practically treating it like royalty.

After all, it was their provider!

Ninetales lacked this kind of awareness. Yuga silently thought to himself that he would have to make Ninetales fully understand this.

On the other side, the Arcanine family, returning from their exploration of the island and they was startled by the sudden appearance of the Island Ecopark.

They had only been gone for a short while. How did an entire new building suddenly appear? Where was Yuga? How were they supposed to get back?

The Light Gate they had arrived through had been incorporated into the Ecopark, so the Arcanine outside couldn't see it at all.

The three Arcanine circled the Ecopark's outer walls for a while before finding an entrance. They also noticed the password buttons on the door.

Since the buttons were identical to the ones at Verdanturf Town's main entrance, the Arcanine tried using their paws to input the same password. With a "click," the door opened.

Having unknowingly been granted free entry by the system, the Arcanine family could easily enter the Island Ecopark.

Stepping through the door, the family of three was both surprised and quickly realized that this building must be related to Yuga.

However, they had only taken a couple of steps when they saw Ninetales approaching with graceful strides.

"Eh? It's you guys?" Ninetales said, surprised. Then, upon seeing their dirty fur, it stepped back with a look of disdain. "What have you been up to? How did you get yourselves into this state?"

The Arcanine family had explored the nearby area and even gotten into a fight with some wild Pokémon, so they weren't exactly clean. They also knew Ninetales had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, so they tactfully kept their distance and explained to Ninetales that this island was their home.

Ninetales looking surprised, said, "Oh, I see. Well then, how about you show me around?" Ninetales was quite interested in the unfamiliar island.

Having already seen the Ho-Oh skeleton in the Lake Zone, it wanted to explore the island further to understand what made it such a special place, capable of being Ho-Oh's burial ground.

The Arcanine family had no objections. Ninetales often guided their training and had helped them a lot, so they respected Ninetales and were happy to act as guides. Though, they weren't very familiar with the area themselves.

And so, just after returning, the Arcanine family and Ninetales disappeared into the woods again.

When Yuga and Coco were done with their work and tried to find Ninetales, there was no sign of it in the Ecopark.

Suspecting that Ninetales had gone out, Yuga and Coco waited at the door for it to return.

Ninetales and the Arcanine family were thoughtful, knowing that it was getting late, so they hadn't gone far. After a casual stroll nearby, they returned.

When Ninetales and the Arcanine family came back, about an hour had passed since they left. Yuga, seeing them return, was about to wave at them, but then noticed something floating above Ninetales' head.

As the four Pokémon got closer, Yuga realized that it was a Smoochum!

...

[ Smoochum (Never-Melt Ice) ]

Type: Ice, Psychic

Ability: Damp Body

Gender: Female

Potential: Blue

Level: 25

Moves: Angel's Kiss, Powder Snow, Psychic, Sing, Heart Stamp, Trick.

...

Thanks to Yuga's Insight skill, Smoochum's data was revealed.

Wow, this one was a blue potential Pokémon with a held item!

At that moment, Ninetales was using Psychic to control Smoochum, who was desperately struggling. However, with its small arms and legs, it was no match for Ninetales.

"Where did you find this little one?" Yuga asked, delighted.

"Here, a gift for you!"

Ninetales directly tossed Smoochum onto the ground, causing it to tumble in th butt painfully, and Smoochum let out a tearful cry from the pain.

It quickly got up, turned toward Ninetales, and pointed at it, as if accusing it. There was no fear in its eyes despite the obvious strength of Ninetales; instead, there was a boldness, the kind of fearlessness that comes from a young calf not afraid of a tiger.

"A gift? What the heck?" Yuga asked, completely confused.

The encounter between Ninetales and Smoochum had been an accident. They were simply strolling through the forest when this Smoochum suddenly jumped out and started trying to compete with Ninetales in beauty.

Ninetales had been caught off guard by the little one's actions, watching as it "posed" in front of it. Eventually, unable to resist, Ninetales brought it back.

After hearing the story, Yuga laughed heartily. He hadn't expected Smoochum to be such a narcissist!

However, it seemed that competing with Ninetales in beauty would be quite difficult. As far as Yuga knew, Ninetales was considered a true beauty among Pokémon, and this was universally acknowledged by many.

Smoochum on the other hand, could only be considered cute at best.

When Smoochum realized that Yuga was mocking it, it got angry. It turned away and blew a Powder Snow in Yuga's direction. However, before the snowflakes even touched Yuga, they were melted away by a blast of warm air from Arcanine.

But one thing puzzled Yuga: there shouldn't have been Ice-type Pokémon like Smoochum on this island.

While the climate on Resurrection Island wasn't exactly tropical, it was at least subtropical. Ice-type Pokémon were hard to breed here, especially Smoochum, who preferred cold, snowy environments.

Yuga later learned that Smoochum wasn't originally from Resurrection Island. It had come from an ice island far away from here. One day, it and its little friends had decided to go out and explore, and they built an ice boat to sail away.

But during their journey, the ice boat melted, and they fell into the sea. Fortunately, one of Smoochum's friends, a young sea lion, was able to swim and carry Smoochum to safety.

The two Pokémon had no idea how long they drifted in the ocean, completely unaware of where they had ended up. Eventually, they were separated by a massive tsunami. When Smoochum woke up, it found itself lying on the beach of Resurrection Island.

As for the sea lion, who knew where the tsunami had swept it?

Smoochum searched the island for a long time, but couldn't find its sea lion friend. Unable to leave the island, it eventually settled there.

Although Smoochum wasn't particularly strong, it was quite stubborn. Since Yuga had mocked it, Smoochum refused to be caught. So, Yuga had to take a more forceful approach.

With a gentle swipe of Arcanine's paw, Smoochum immediately fainted and was captured in a Poké Ball by Yuga.

Days passed, and Yuga had been busy with the operations of the Ecopark. Finally, he had managed to get the whole Ecopark running smoothly.

The newly captured Smoochum was brought home by Yuga. Originally, it was unwilling to be captured, but once it realized it had left the island, it immediately had no objections. It is currently adjusting well at YoYo Day Care.

It has even made friends with Clefairy and Mime Jr. Over the past few days, those two have been taking it around town to have some fun.

Smoochum coming from a secluded island, had never seen such a vibrant world. Within two days, it had completely forgotten about its earlier refusal to be captured.

By the way, just like Ninetales, Smoochum is quite vain. It somehow managed to get a small mirror, about the size of a palm, and whenever it has a free moment, it pulls it out to admire itself.

It even begged Ninetales for a pink flower and proudly placed it on the tuft of hair on its head. It was so pleased with itself that it couldn't stop looking at its reflection.

Speaking of Ninetales, it had returned to the set yesterday. Its vacation was over.

During the two days Ninetales spent at home, it inevitably had to visit the Pokémon Club, and this gave Yuga the perfect opportunity. It was time for Ninetales to learn the authority of its "breadwinner."

Without Yuga's financial support, Ninetales wouldn't have been able to go to the club. Out of "force," it had to humble itself and serve Yuga as a maid for two days. Only after making sure Yuga was well taken care of did it earn the chance to visit the Pokémon Club.

Ninetales felt like it might be the most oppressed level 100 Pokémon in the world.

After returning from the Pokémon Club, Ninetales was radiant, its pale yellow fur almost glowing. In that moment, it felt all the previous grievances had been worth it.

Ninetales' bright appearance left Smoochum in awe. It was extremely envious and hoped that one day it could possess the same beauty as Ninetales!

Evolution! It had to evolve! Smoochum believed that if it evolved, it could become as beautiful as Ninetales!

If Yuga knew about Smoochum's thoughts, he would probably tell it: "No, you might regret it after evolving."

At least Yuga didn't think Smoochum was beautiful. Perhaps, in the eyes of other Pokémon, Smoochum had its own charm...

These past few days, Yuga had been organizing his gains from Resurrection Island, and two items stood out as the most important. One was a white stone that had fallen from Aerodactyl, and the other was a Soul Dew he had dug out of Aerodactyl's nest.

The white stone was likely the key to Aerodactyl's potential to evolve into a level 100 Pokémon or even undergo a Mega Evolution. It was undoubtedly a very important treasure.

After careful consideration, Yuga decided to give the stone to Nana.

Although Nana sometimes showed the potential of a Celebi, it was only half Celebi and didn't even have the full Celebi body yet. It was still far from reaching its peak battle strength.

With this stone, Nana might be able to take the next step, and perhaps even surpass Yuga's current strongest level 100 Pokémon, Aegislash.

Yuga had witnessed the battle prowess of the Aerodactyl. Although he couldn't successfully capture it, if Nana could use the white stone to grow to the level of Aerodactyl, it would be perfect.

As for the Soul Dew, Yuga decided to give it to Dragonite.

Among the seven Pokémon currently in Yuga's team, only Dragonite still had Indigo potential, which might limit its growth in the future.

This Soul Dew was very likely to help Dragonite complete its final transformation.

However, Dragonite was currently training in the Distortion World and wouldn't return for several months. Whether the Soul Dew would be effective remained to be seen.

Now that the matters with the island's Ecopark were all settled, Yuga decided to visit the Nidoking clan's territory. He had promised Nidoqueen that he would take care of Max Revive, and it was time to give her a solid answer, or she might start thinking she had been deceived.

Along with Yuga was Nana and Arcanine family, as they were also planning to visit their hometown again.

Yuga rode Arcanine rushing full speed ahead. In just a day, they arrived at the Nidoking clan's territory. Any Pokémon they encountered on the way, who failed to notice them, were swiftly dealt with by Nana.

Yuga's arrival was warmly welcomed by all members of the Nidoking clan, and the Nidoqueen's heart, which had been heavy with worry, was finally put at ease.

Yuga had been gone for so many days without any news, and she had truly worried that Yuga wouldn't keep his promise.

After receiving the Nidoking clan's warm hospitality, Yuga began discussing Max Revive with Nidoqueen.

After some negotiation, Yuga and Nidoqueen finally agreed that every month, the Nidoking clan would prepare the Revival Herb needed to make Max Revive and hand it over to a Pokémon Yuga sent. Yuga would then handle the crafting and send it back.

The reward Nidoqueen would provide was, of course, Revival Herb.

The responsibility for coordinating between Yuga and the Nidoking clan fell to Noctowl and Chatot.

Yuga decided to entrust the task of crafting the Max Revive to Joyka.

Although Joyka wasn't as skilled as Joyin in the field of pharmacy, she was more than capable of making the Max Revive independently.

This arrangement would also allow Joyka to earn some extra income.

Although the Joy family also dealt in Revival Herb and Max Revive, it wasn't Joyka's personal business, and she had no part in it.

However, Yuga hadn't yet discussed this matter with Joyka, so he would have to talk to her about it when he got back.

As for the reward from the Nidoking clan, Yuga decided to split it with Joyka, 60-40. Joyka would receive 60%, and Yuga would keep 40%. After all, Joyka was the one doing the crafting, while he was just acting as the intermediary. Besides, he didn't particularly need the extra Revival Herb.

Of course, this intermediary role was still quite important.