Chapter 1103: Modified Battle Suit
Chapter 1103: Modified Battle Suit
The first to contact Yuga was the owner of the Pokémon Day Care from Fallarbor Town. This particular Pokémon Day Care was one of the smallest among the group. According to the information provided by the White Light Intelligence Bureau, the owner had recently lost a shipment, resulting in significant financial loss. Yuga understood why they were so quick to make a decision.
The second person to reach out to Yuga was from Mauville City's Pokémon Day Care, which caught Yuga by surprise.
When Yuga initially proposed the collaboration, it was clear that this owner had been quite hesitant, barely speaking throughout the entire meeting. Yuga had assumed they weren't very interested in partnering.
The truth was, the reason this owner made their decision so quickly was simple—they needed a catalyst to take their business to the next level, and the rare Pokémon offered by YoYo Day Care provided that opportunity.
Furthermore, to make the partnership more attractive, Yuga had offered a purchase price that was 5% lower than the market price for similar Pokémon.
While 5% might not sound like much, when the purchase volume reached a certain level, it could significantly reduce costs.
With the intention to collaborate established, there was still much work to be done, such as negotiating the details and signing contracts. Yuga scheduled separate meetings with the owners who had expressed interest in partnering.
Out of the seven small Pokémon Day Care centers, six ultimately entered into a partnership with YoYo Day Care. Only one owner failed to follow up after returning home, but this outcome had already far exceeded Yuga's expectations.
Once the contracts were signed, the six Pokémon Day Care centers immediately placed orders with Yuga. The stock of low-potential Pokémon that had accumulated over time at YoYo Day Care was nearly cleared out in one go.
At the same time, the system's main quest finally showed as completed.
Yuga had to admit, the difficulty of the main quests had significantly increased after the system update. It took him several months of brainstorming, conducting detailed investigations, and organizing the exchange meeting to finally complete the task.
However, his hard work had paid off. The system rated his performance as "excellent," and the reward was incredibly generous—it was a Leaf Stone vein.
The surprise came so suddenly that Yuga almost thought he was seeing things. It wasn't until he chose the location for the vein in the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark and dug out a Leaf Stone from it that he fully believed the reward was real.
The size of this Leaf Stone vein was about the same as the Fire Stone vein in the Volcano Sub-Ecopark, with a large reserve. From now on, Yuga would never have to worry about running out of Leaf Stones.
In fact, Yuga's demand for Leaf Stones was quite high. Not only did Gloom need them to evolve into Vileplume, and Exeggcute to evolve into Exeggutor, but other Grass-type Pokémon also required Leaf Stones for assistance during their breeding process.
Evolution stones, besides being used for Pokémon evolution, had many other functions. For instance, when Grass-type Pokémon were first born, breeders would often mix a small amount of Leaf Stone powder into their food, which helped prevent developmental issues in young Pokémon.
After completing this main quest, the system immediately updated with a new task.
...
[ Main Quest: New Pokémon for Sale (Accepted) ]
[ Description: The variety and number of Pokémon currently for sale at the Day Care are still insufficient. Please continue your efforts. ]
[ Requirements: Within one year, add at least three different types of high-potential Pokémon with different attributes to the shelves. ]
[ Reward: ??? ]
Seeing this, Yuga finally understood that after the system update, all the main quests had become long-term tasks.
Moreover, this time, the reward would also be based on performance, meaning the more new Pokémon species and types he could put on the shelves over the year, the more generous the rewards would be.
However, Yuga wasn't about to randomly put Pokémon up for sale just to complete the task. If he put new Pokémon on the market when there wasn't enough stock, it would only create problems for the Day Care's future operations. You can't just take a Pokémon off the shelves once it's sold out!
If things ever reached that point, it would be a huge loss, and it would severely damage the reputation of the Day Care.
Luckily, the task had a year-long deadline, so Yuga decided to take things slowly.
He then glanced at the side quests under the main quest and found himself at a loss as to where he could find five Electric-type Pokémon. Species like Magnemite, Ampharos, Pachirisu, Joltik, Pikachu, Jolteon, and Rotom were already present in his Ecopark, so the system wouldn't count them toward the task's requirements.
"Forget it, I'll deal with it later!" he thought. After all, there was no rush.
That day, Yuga was helping Ayaka count the newly stocked Pokeblock when Suzuha walked in with a cheerful smile.
Seeing her, Yuga smiled and asked, "Why are you here? Are you buying Pokeblock or Incense?"
Since the establishment of the Distribution Department, its relationship with YoYo Day Care had been very harmonious. All of the Pokeblock and incense for their trainers were purchased from YoYo Day Care, and even the holiday gifts given within the department were YoYo Day Care's Pokeblock and Incense.
Suzuha shook her head and said, "Neither. I'm here to deliver a reward for you today."
"A reward?" Yuga was confused.
After some explanation, Yuga finally understood that Suzuha had brought him the reward for the Team Flare Incident. The event had occurred a few months ago, and though there had been a promise of a reward, it had taken so long that Yuga had nearly forgotten about it.
This month, the Distribution Department had delivered some innovation potions to the Kalos League. On their way back, they brought Yuga's reward along. The moment the department returned to Verdanturf Town, they gave the items to Suzuha to bring to YoYo Day Care.
"Come with me!" Yuga said excitedly as he led Suzuha to the reception room.
Yuga had made quite a significant contribution during the events in Kalos, even bringing a master-level trainer and an Eternal Flower Floette, to their league. So, he had high hopes for the reward sent by the Kalos League.
When Suzuha arrived, she was carrying two boxes. Upon reaching the reception room, she carefully placed both boxes on the table, then opened the one on the left.
"Let's take a look at your first reward," Suzuha said as she pushed the opened box toward Yuga.
Inside the box were rows of Poké Balls. Yuga counted: four rows, five in each row—twenty in total.
"Are they all Pokémon?" Yuga asked Suzuha.
"Exactly," she nodded.
Without further questions, Yuga picked up one of the Poké Balls and opened it. A brown and green Pokémon appeared on the table.
"So it's Chespin!" Yuga wasn't too surprised. Given his contribution, it was only natural for the Kalos League to gift him some of their starter Pokémon.
Suzuha explained, "There are twenty Chespin in total, eighteen of them with green potential and two with blue potential."
Yuga had originally thought the twenty Pokémon would include Fennekin and Froakie as well, but it turned out to be just Chespin, which left him slightly disappointed.
However, hearing that there were two Chespin with blue potential lifted his spirits a little.
Speaking of which, if he counted his main Pokémon, he had almost collected all the Grass-type starter Pokémon from various regions.
After recalling the Chespin on the table back into its Poké Ball, Yuga looked toward the other box and asked, "And what's in this one?"
Suzuha glanced at Yuga, her eyes filled with envy, leaving Yuga utterly baffled.
When the second box was opened, Yuga saw that it contained two items. On the left was a neatly folded black garment—probably clothing, but since it was folded into a square, Yuga wasn't entirely sure. On the right was an Ultra Ball.
Suzuha picked up the Ultra Ball on the right first. Upon opening it, a Luxray emerged.
This Luxray was very robust, standing before Yuga like a small calf. However, Yuga's expression remained indifferent, as if he wasn't too interested.
He instinctively activated his Insight ability.
...
[ Luxray (Severely Injured, Near Death) ]
Type: Electric
Ability: Intimidate
Gender: Male
Potential: Blue
Level: 71
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Charge, Spark, Thunder Fang, Bite, Crunch, Roar, Discharge, Wild Charge, Electric Terrain, Thunderbolt, Double Team, Thunder Wave, Sucker Punch, Iron Tail, Superpower, Giga Impact.
...
Yuga didn't expect Suzuha to release an Elite-level Pokémon. Although he was in need of Electric-type Pokémon, the words "severely injured, near death" made him hesitate...
"Suzuha, what's the story behind this Luxray?" Yuga asked, puzzled.
Suzuha immediately explained, "This Luxray was also sent by the Kalos League, but it has some physical issues..."
It turned out that this Elite-level Luxray was rescued not long ago by Kalos's Elite Four trainer Wikstrom.
At the time, Luxray had been severely injured in a conflict with an opponent who had been trying to kill it, but Wikstrom intervened just in time to save its life.
However, Luxray's injuries were so severe that even Wikstrom couldn't heal it, so he brought it back to the League.
The Kalos League could technically heal Luxray, but it would take considerable effort. Instead, they decided to gift it to Yuga.
They knew that Yuga had Max Revive, which could easily heal Luxray's injuries. After saving Luxray's life, it would naturally be easy for Yuga to form a bond with it.
Hearing this, Yuga realized that the Kalos League was giving him the opportunity to bond with an Elite-level Pokémon through a favor.
They had put a lot of thought into this, and Yuga accepted the gesture graciously.
Yuga approached Luxray, gently placing his hand on its head. The healing power of Celebi Blessing flowed through him into Luxray's body. Luxray immediately felt its internal injuries begin to ease and looked at Yuga in surprise, who responded with a bright smile.
Of course, Yuga's healing abilities could only alleviate the injuries. To fully cure Luxray, he'd still need to use a Max Revive, as the "near-death" state was no trivial matter.
Before coming to Hoenn, Luxray had already reached an agreement with the Kalos League: whoever could heal its wounds would become its new trainer. That's why Luxray didn't resist when Yuga touched it.
As a wild Elite-level Pokémon, it didn't allow just anyone to touch it.
Seeing that the Luxray was still fairly friendly, Yuga smiled as he rubbed its stiff fur and promised, "Don't worry, I'll definitely heal your wounds."
The Luxray, with a bit of a proud personality, wasn't entirely pleased with Yuga's head rub and turned its head slightly to the side.
After introducing the Luxray, Suzuha picked up the black clothing and gave it a shake, spreading it open.
"The main focus here is this piece of clothing," she said.
Looking at the clothing, Yuga suddenly found it familiar, and then it hit him—it looked a lot like the Expansion Suit that Emma had worn before!
"This piece of clothing is a newly researched special battle suit from the Kalos League. Due to its difficulty in production, it hasn't been mass-produced yet," Suzuha explained.
Although Suzuha had been sent to deliver this battle suit to Yuga, she wasn't aware of the Expansion Suit project from Lysandre Labs, nor did she know that this battle suit was an improved version of the Expansion Suit designed by the Kalos League.
"This suit has incredibly strong defensive capabilities. Even though it's thin, they say it can withstand a Hyper Beam from a Champion-level Pokémon without a scratch."
At this, Suzuha gave Yuga another envious look. With this suit, the safety of missions would be significantly improved in the future.
Unfortunately, the League hadn't managed to create many of these suits, and only important members who frequently undertook dangerous missions could get one. A minor figure like her couldn't even dream of it.
Yuga was also shocked by what she said. He hadn't expected that the League could modify Lysandre's Expansion Suit to this extent.
It was well-known that the original Expansion Suit had significant flaws and couldn't be used directly; otherwise, Essentia wouldn't have been created.
Yuga then learned that the reason this battle suit was successfully developed was because the League had sacrificed the original Expansion Suit's powerful combat abilities, leaving only its defensive power.
Furthermore, the defense was only effective against energy-based attacks, while physical attacks exceeding the level of a pseudo-Champion would break through its defense.
However, Yuga thought this was already impressive. With a Pokémon in front protecting the trainer and this battle suit, most dangers could be easily managed.
"So, this suit is mine now?" Yuga asked, feeling satisfied as he touched the suit's unique texture, though he thought the design was a bit flashy. It would have been better if it could be worn under normal clothes.
"Yes, it's yours now," Suzuha nodded. "But using it requires elemental gems."
She then explained how to use the battle suit.
For the battle suit to maintain its powerful defensive capabilities, it needed energy, and that energy came from elemental gems.
There were small mechanisms on both shoulders, the chest, and the thigh areas where a gem could be placed. The element of the gem didn't matter, similar to how other devices might need batteries.
In other words, each time the battle suit was used, five elemental gems were needed as "batteries"—quite expensive. If Yuga weren't wealthy, he probably wouldn't be able to afford using the suit.