Chapter 258: An Invitation from the League
Chapter 258: An Invitation from the League
While Yuga remained unaware of the events outside, he had started training Dratini after it had acclimated to life in the Ecopark. Florges, Absol, and Vivillon were all engaged in independent training. Therefore, Yuga focused his training efforts on Chimcho and Dratini.
Chimecho's training still emphasized gravity manipulation and recovery skills, but recently, Yuga had been gradually improving its battle capabilities to increase its offensive power. After all, a good nanny should be capable of both offense and support.
Then there was Dratini.
After a period of training, Yuga began to appreciate Dratini's exceptional talent. Just like its mother, it excelled in using Ice-type moves, creating exquisite patterns with Ice Beams.
Dratini could freely use Ice Beam to create lifelike ice lotus flowers on the water's surface and craft beautiful ice sculptures with precise control of its Ice-type abilities. Its control was on par with a coordinated trainer's Pokémon.
However, compared to Ice Beam, it struggled a bit with the more powerful Blizzard, likely due to its young age. It couldn't control larger area-of-effect attacks very well. Perhaps it was just a matter of growing older.
Apart from its Ice-type prowess, Dratini's Electric-type talent was just as impressive. Maybe it was the influence of the golden lightning fused with it by Spectral Celebi. Not only did it easily master Thunderbolt, but it could also use Thunder reasonably well.
Like Vivillon, another Pokémon with indigo potential, Dratini displayed exceptional talent in grasping and utilizing skills. Even with its recently acquired proficiency in Thunderbolt, it demonstrated a level of mastery comparable to its Ice Beam control. It seemed like Dratini had a knack for learning various abilities.
The powerful electrical output didn't seem to burden Dratini's body at all. Instead, it provided a significant boost to its explosive power, making its Electric-type skills no less formidable than those of dedicated Electric-type Pokémon.
However, considering its future potential, Yuga focused on improving its physical fitness. Only with a robust physique could Dratini safely harness both Ice-type and Electric-type abilities.
Yuga had previously employed a training regimen where Chimcho used Gravity to build the stamina of Absol and others. He had put it on hold when Absol and the others grew stronger. However, with Dratini's training, he had resurrected this training program because it proved effective for Dratini.
In addition to physical conditioning, Yuga didn't merely seek to enhance Dratini's Ice and Electric talents. Instead, he encouraged Dratini to understand and control these two innate abilities.
Given Dratini's young age relative to the long lifespan of a Pokémon like Dragonite, Yuga didn't want to rush its development but rather foster it in the most balanced way possible.
On this particular day, Yuga was helping Windy pack Pokéblocks to be shipped when he saw Steven entering the shop.
"Hey, Yuga!" Steven greeted him.
Yuga, surprised, asked, "Why are you still here? Aren't you a prosecutor now? Why are you so free?"
Steven awkwardly replied, "What do you mean, free? I have important business to attend to!"
Seeing Steven's guilty expression, Yuga thought to himself, "Is this important business about discovering some new types of stones again?"
"What brings you here today?" Yuga asked as he continued to package the Pokéblocks.
Steven, with a serious expression, said, "I'm here to discuss something important. Yuga, are you interested in becoming a prosecutor?"
Yuga's hands paused for a moment as he continued, "Not interested," before resuming his work.
Upon hearing Yuga's response, Steven's initially serious expression nearly crumbled.
"Why not? Isn't being a prosecutor a good profession in the League?" he asked, a hint of disappointment in his tone.
Yuga retorted, "Then, do you want to be one?"
Steven, having no intention of becoming a prosecutor himself, was momentarily left speechless.
Yuga was well aware that being a prosecutor wasn't his calling, considering that he was, in essence, a stone. Prosecutors and their pursuits were far from his interests.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Yuga asked Steven after a brief silence.
Steven finally explained, "Here's the thing. Our prosecutors wanted me to ask if you'd be interested in joining us. If you are, we can open up an assessment spot for you."
Yuga's next statement caught Steven off guard as he quipped, "Why assessment? I thought you guys would just invite me directly!"
Steven suddenly found it difficult to communicate with Yuga today, as the responses he was receiving were far from what he expected.
"Hehe... Well, assessments are still necessary."
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Yuga moved a packaged box and continued, "Look, my shop is so busy, I don't have the time to become a prosecutor."
Besides, his main storyline task was to be a YoYo Day Care owner. There was no time to be some kind of laborious prosecutor; it sounded exhausting to him.
Upon hearing the title of "prosecutor," Yuga couldn't help but think of that red-haired champion who's always running around. It's quite the contrast to staying comfortably at home every day.
"YoYo Day Care owners can hire others to manage their businesses," Steven pointed out.
Yuga thought to himself, "No way! I can't hire anyone here; I have too many secrets."
"That's not possible! I'm indispensable here; they can't do without me."
"Alright."
Seeing how uninterested Yuga was, Steven gave up. He had briefly considered that if Yuga became a prosecutor, they might make a good team, but now it seemed unlikely.
"By the way, where's your Audino?" Steven looked around the room but couldn't spot Audino anywhere.
Yuga, puzzled by Steven's sudden interest in Audino, replied, "You need it for something? It's not here."
"Oh, I see... Never mind then," Steven said, feeling a bit embarrassed. He had also captured an Audino and hoped to have Yuga's Audino teach it some cooking skills.