Three days later, at the Verdanturf Town Airport, a girl who appeared to be around twenty years old descended from the plane with a Whimsicott by her side.
The girl wore a light green dress, a white sun hat, and had long, jet-black hair. She scanned the crowd, looking left and right until she spotted a sign with her name, at which point she happily waved.
On the other side, Yuga, who had been holding the sign and waiting, spotted the girl in the green dress and called out loudly, "Miss Lain, over here!"
Lain, carrying her luggage and accompanied by Whimsicott, hurried over to Yuga. She smoothed her slightly disheveled hair and apologized, "You must be Young Master Yuga, right? I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."
Upon hearing her address him as "Young Master," Yuga knew that she must have learned this from Ryuichi. While taking her suitcase, he replied, "There's no need for formalities; just call me Yuga. Don't use the same titles as Ryuichi."
Lain didn't object and smiled, saying, "Alright, I'll just call you Yuga, and you can call me Lain."
Before coming to Verdanturf Town, Lain had already contacted Yuga in advance. They had even had video calls, so this wasn't their first meeting.
Yuga said, "Very well, from now on, we're work partners, and there's no need to be too formal."
"By the way, this is my most important partner, Whimsicott."
Saying this, Lain pulled Whimsicott, floating by her side, and introduced it to Yuga.
Whimsicott, with a pair of orange eyes half-closed, greeted Yuga with a cheerful expression.
"Hello there, Whimsicott. It's a pleasure to meet you," Yuga replied.
It was Yuga's first time encountering a Whimsicott, and he couldn't deny that these creatures were incredibly cute. He almost felt his heart melting just looking at it.
Unable to resist, Yuga used his Insight ability to examine Whimsicott's details.
...
<<Whimsicott>>
Type: Grass, Fairy
Ability: Prankster
Gender: Female
Potential: Blue
Level: 49
Moves: Absorb, Fairy Wind, Leech Seed, Cotton Spore, Energy Ball, Sunny Day, Cotton Guard, Tailwind, Hurricane, Toxic, Quick Return, Encore.
...
Yuga was surprised by Whimsicott's strength; it was only one level away from reaching level 50.
As far as Yuga knew, Lain wasn't a traditional Pokémon trainer. She had pursued Breeder courses in both elementary and intermediate schools, and after reaching the advanced school level, she had focused on incense making.
However, this might also be related to the small number of Pokémon she raised. Ryuichi was a genuine Elite-level Trainer and had been grooming Lain like his own daughter over the years. While Lain's impressive strength was surprising, it was not entirely unexpected.
It was safe to say that she was brought up by an Elite-level Trainer, and even though she didn't specialize in Pokémon battles, the strength of her Pokémon couldn't be underestimated.
Yuga helped Lain with her luggage and led her towards YoYo Day Care. Through their conversation along the way, Yuga discovered that she was a lively girl with a personality that sharply contrasted with her initial appearance.
With her long black hair, standing at an impressive height of 1.7 meters, and her mature and composed face, Lain initially gave off an elegant and mature impression—a true lady.
However, her lively personality combined with her mature appearance created a striking contrast.
On the other hand, Whimsicott had a personality that was the complete opposite of Lain's, with its playful and adorable appearance contrasting with its mature and composed demeanor.
Once they returned to YoYo Day Care, Yuga directly brought Lain to her new room on the second floor. Her room was right next to Misaki's and across from Anya's, providing a perfect companionship for the three girls.
After settling Lain's luggage, Yuga took her around the store to help her get familiar with her future work environment.
Lain's workplace was a room that Yuga had recently prepared, and it wasn't situated in the same workshop as where Misaki and Anya made Pokéblocks.
The process of making incense is quite intricate and requires numerous tools such as mortar and pestle, containers, stoves, stone bowls, and more, which can occupy a significant amount of space.
Before arriving in Verdanturf Town, Lain had sent a batch of her own incense-making tools to YoYo Day Care. However, these tools were only suitable for producing relatively inferior incense. To create the high-quality incense found in the "Incense Making Manual," many specialized tools needed to be custom-made.
Prior to Lain's arrival in Verdanturf Town, Yuga had already arranged for a place to produce these tools. However, these tools had unique functions and would take some time to complete.
While giving Lain a tour of YoYo Day Care, Yuga introduced her to the other staff members and explained some of the business aspects involved. After all, she would be working here in the future and needed to understand the store's operations.
Lain was highly satisfied with the situation at YoYo Day Care. She simply wanted a place where she could focus on researching incense, and this location fulfilled all her requirements. Aside from researching and crafting incense, Yuga didn't require her to handle any other tasks.
After the tour, Yuga handed Lain the "Incense Making Manual" and encouraged her to study it thoroughly to be able to craft high-quality incense as soon as possible.
Once she had the manual in her hands, Lain and her Whimsicott immediately retreated to her room. They immersed themselves in their studies, and by dinnertime, she hadn't emerged. Yuga had to personally go and call her.
Upon entering her room and seeing Lain researching and taking notes, Yuga couldn't help but shake his head. It was clear that she was quite dedicated, and such dedication often led to great achievements.
Finally, Yuga promised to provide her with materials the next day so that she could put her newfound knowledge into practice, and only then did she leave her room.
Even though there weren't many materials available yet, and the tools weren't complete, it was still fine to let Lain get a feel for the process.
As expected, during dinner, Lain was amazed by Audino's cooking skills, and her comical eagerness to devour her plate of food made everyone burst into laughter. This reminded them of their own initial days at YoYo Day Care.
Not only did Lain fall in love with Audino's culinary skills, but her Whimsicott also took a liking to YoYo Day Care's Grass-type and Fairy-type Pokéblocks.
In addition to her Whimsicott, Lain had a Vileplume and a Fomantis, all of which were Grass-type Pokémon. These Pokémon shared the same attributes as Ryuichi's expertise. Furthermore, all three of her Pokémon were exceptionally well cared for, indicating that Lain's abilities as a Breeder were likely quite high.
Vileplume's strength was quite impressive, only slightly behind Whimsicott. However, the Fomantis seemed to have been recently captured, as its level was still quite low, and it hadn't completed its final evolution.
Lain's arrival was warmly welcomed by all the staff members at YoYo Day Care. Her lively and friendly personality, combined with her ability to engage in conversations, quickly made her fit in with everyone else.
Once she settled into YoYo Day Care, Lain continued her research into the "Incense Making Manual." Although she had studied this subject in high school, she hadn't been exposed to advanced incense-making techniques, so she was even more enthusiastic about delving into the manual and cherished this opportunity for learning.