章節 1180: Sasaki
After the battle subsided, it was time to determine what to do with Zekrom, the white stone that held Reshiram, and N.
First, regarding Zekrom: the League does not have the authority to control a Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon and always respects their own will. However, due to Rayquaza's demand, Zekrom needed to immediately leave Hoenn and return to Unova—non-negotiable.
Consequently, Damon's plan to persuade the scattered People of the Vale to return to Einoak Town was effectively thwarted.
Next was N. He was the nominal king of Team Plasma, and dealing with him required careful consideration.
In recent years, Team Plasma had been promoting the idea of liberating Pokémon, advocating for freeing them from human ownership. However, in reality, their actions did not align with their statements—they often seized Pokémon from trainers by force, significantly impacting public safety.
Yuga understood that N was, in truth, deceived by Team Plasma and was essentially just a misguided youth.
After Damon and Zekrom were forcibly sent back to Unova, N stayed at the Verdanturf Town police station for two days. He was then taken by an arriving investigation bureau and transferred to the Unova League.
The white stone (the slumbering Reshiram) was also handed over to the Unova League along with N.
The Unova League expressed deep gratitude to the Hoenn League, especially to Yuga; if Reshiram had fallen into Team Plasma's hands, it would have caused them no end of trouble.
How the Unova League would deal with Reshiram was not Yuga's concern. His only responsibility was to quell the battle and capture those involved; he would not meddle with anything beyond that.
A few days ago, YoYo Day Care had taken on a new business deal, and today, Yuga was scheduled to meet with this business's owner.
As Verdanturf Town prospered, more investors came to set up businesses. Recently, a water-type Pokémon enthusiast planned to build a large aquarium in Verdanturf Town. To decide which water-type Pokémon to display in the aquarium, he wanted to discuss his options with YoYo Day Care.
This man had been introduced to Yuga by Mayor Ishida. Yuga didn't know him well; all he knew was that his name was Shindo Sasaki. According to Mayor Ishida, not only was this person investing in the aquarium, but he had also put capital into several other ventures in Verdanturf Town, and was considered reliable.
Yuga was particularly alert to the Sasaki surname, as Windy's last name was also Sasaki. But it wasn't until he met Shindo Sasaki in person that he realized this wasn't a mere coincidence.
Yuga and Shindo Sasaki had arranged to meet in a private room at a high-end restaurant in Verdanturf Town, a location selected and paid for by Shindo Sasaki, showing he was a man of considerable wealth.
"Gym Leader Shimizu, I've heard so much about you! If not for Mayor Ishida's introduction, a nobody like me would never have had the chance to meet you!" Shindo Sasaki greeted Yuga warmly, immediately placing him in high regard.
Then, Sasaki gave a lengthy self-introduction, and Yuga learned that Shindo Sasaki was indeed a member of the Sasaki family he had heard of.
The Sasaki family was a prominent clan in Kanto, with its current head being James's father, who was Windy's biological uncle.
The current head of the Sasaki family was not particularly well-regarded by outsiders. He was a guardian of the family legacy with no particular ambition; he could maintain the family's standing but lacked the capacity to expand its influence.
However, this was understandable; everyone knew that the previous Sasaki head had invested heavily in grooming his eldest son. After the eldest son passed away, the younger son inherited the position, but inevitably lacked in certain areas.
Yuga highly suspected that the Sasaki family's purpose in seeking him out was related to Windy.
"Gym Leader Shimizu, do you have any suggestions on the types of water-type Pokémon we should include in the aquarium?" Shindo Sasaki asked Yuga humbly for his input.
Yuga thought for a moment and replied, "Since your aquarium is in Hoenn, you should select water-type Pokémon from other regions as well. This will attract more visitors. Naturally, this will also increase costs."
Shindo Sasaki agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "Gym Leader Shimizu, you make an excellent point! This aligns perfectly with my own thoughts." He continued to lavish Yuga with compliments.
As expected from a businessman, Yuga felt slightly embarrassed by all the praise, while Sasaki remained unfazed.
After some discussion, Shindo Sasaki said, "We'll leave the selection of water-type Pokémon for the aquarium up to you, Gym Leader Shimizu. Money isn't an issue—just let us know what you need."
To Yuga's surprise, he didn't mention Windy at all, making Yuga wonder if he might have overthought the situation.
Since he had come with genuine business intentions and wasn't short on funds, Yuga saw no reason to turn him away, and they quickly signed a contract.
In the following days, Shindo Sasaki took Yuga on multiple tours of their newly built aquarium, thoroughly explaining its layout and discussing which Pokémon to place in each section.
The Pokémon displayed in the aquarium were purely for visitor viewing, so there were no specific requirements for quality—whether red or orange level, any would be acceptable. However, they would need a large quantity.
The aquarium was enormous, giving Yuga a vivid understanding of what it meant to be wealthy and extravagant.
What surprised Yuga the most was that Shindo Sasaki was genuinely passionate about water-type Pokémon. He knew all kinds of water Pokémon inside out and discussed them enthusiastically with Yuga.
According to him, he had dreamed of becoming a water-type Pokémon trainer when he was young, but he didn't have the talent. Instead, he had a knack for business, which led him to take on part of the family's business later on.
Building an aquarium was a way to fulfill his original passion. Since he couldn't be a trainer, he could at least be a "virtual" trainer.
Meanwhile, Ghetsis, who had fled from Petalburg Forest, reconnected with Colress.
"Have you made any progress with your investigation on the DNA Splicers and Kyurem?" Ghetsis asked anxiously.
"There's a lead. Why?" Colress responded with a hint of curiosity.
In fact, Colress was fairly certain that the DNA Splicers were in the hands of Drayden, the Gym Leader of Opelucid City, but how to obtain them from him would require careful planning.
However, before attempting to take the DNA Splicers, they needed to locate Kyurem. Without Kyurem, the DNA Splicers would be useless.
"Reshiram and N have been taken by the League!" Ghetsis said, his face grim.
"What? Weren't you after Zekrom? How did you end up losing Reshiram and N?" Colress's expression turned sour, almost as if he were reprimanding Ghetsis.
Colress held a high position in Team Plasma, almost equal to Ghetsis, so he spoke to Ghetsis in a tone of reproach, which irked Ghetsis slightly.
However, despite his irritation, he didn't show it, as both he and Team Plasma heavily relied on Colress, who was essentially the heart of their organization and indispensable.
Seeing Colress's dark expression, Ghetsis remained silent for a long time, realizing he had indeed been careless this time.
"Weren't you mainly going to Hoenn to meet Maxie? See if you can get him to help you investigate Rayquaza," Colress finally said after a while.
Since Maxie was so knowledgeable about Groudon, he likely also knew some lesser-known information about Rayquaza.
Ever since Archie was captured by the League, Team Aqua has temporarily disappeared from the scene, leaving Team Magma struggling. As a result, their connections with Team Plasma have become much closer.
"Investigate Rayquaza? Why?" Ghetsis asked in confusion.
"I have my reasons. Just do it," Colress replied curtly, ending the call without further explanation.
After the call, Colress stared at his communicator, lost in thought. Since he watched the footage of Rayquaza's Mega Evolution, he couldn't get the idea of this form of evolution out of his mind.
In the footage, he could see that the evolved Rayquaza completely overpowered Reshiram. If he could understand and harness this evolution...
After several days of discussion, YoYo Day Care agreed to supply Shindo Sasaki's aquarium with a variety of water-type Pokémon, including Feebas, Clamperl, Qwilfish, Remoraid, Carvanha, Clauncher, Horsea, and Lapras.
In addition to these, Yuga arranged contacts with Pokémon Day Care from other regions to import a wider selection of water-type Pokémon.
Yuga had developed quite a network in the breeding community, knowing several breeders across different regions, so acquiring additional Pokémon wasn't a problem.
Shindo Sasaki was generous, covering all expenses himself and even paying Yuga a fee for his efforts.
Yuga also learned that a conservation area under the Sinnoh League recently faced an overpopulation of Relicanth, which was straining their resources, so he managed to secure a free batch for Sasaki's aquarium.
Thanks to Yuga's connections from his work with the Innovation potion, along with Cynthia's help in smoothing things over, the application process went smoothly, and before long, the Relicanth arrived at the aquarium.
Relicanth, often called a living fossil, generally inhabit deep-sea areas in the wild and are rarely encountered, so even though they aren't particularly attractive, they're still highly valued by enthusiasts.
If it weren't for the overpopulation in the conservation area, they likely wouldn't have had the opportunity to acquire so many Relicanth.
Receiving these Pokémon at no cost made Shindo Sasaki extremely grateful to Yuga. Early in the morning, he arrived at YoYo Day Care with gifts to thank him, only to run into Windy, who was helping Yuga deliver goods to the Pidgey Express.
"Young Master, it's been a while," Shindo Sasaki said respectfully to Windy.
"You've got the wrong person," Windy replied, not even turning his head as he walked past by him.
Sasaki quickly stepped forward to block Windy.
"Young Master, Lord Motoharu misses you dearly. He hopes you'll visit when you have time."
Motoharu is the name of James' father, while Windy's father is named Motoaki.
In fact, Shindo Sasaki's main reason for coming to Verdanturf Town was Windy, but he and Motoharu didn't approach him right away out of fear of provoking Windy's resentment.
Motoharu genuinely wanted Windy to return, not only because Windy was his brother's only child but also because the Sasaki family needed an heir.
He was well aware of his son James' nature; expecting him to revitalize the Sasaki family was about as likely as the sun rising from the west.
Although Windy was an illegitimate child, Motoharu had never looked down on him, a sentiment evident even in his choice of James' name.
The reason James is called "Jiro" (Second Son) instead of "Ichiro" or "Taro" (Eldest Son) is because he has an older brother, Windy.
(Note: James Japanese name is Kojiro)
In the past, Windy constantly changed residences and jobs to avoid members of the Sasaki family. However, as the saying goes, there's no wall that doesn't let in wind; they eventually managed to find him this time.
When Windy heard Shindo Sasaki's words, his expression finally changed slightly. He glanced at the man before walking away again.
Watching Windy's departing figure, Shindo Sasaki sighed deeply. As a branch family member, he had no desire to meddle in the family affairs of the main family, but the family head had given him orders.
He had heard about the hardships Windy endured back when he lived in the Sasaki family mansion.
Time flew by, and soon, the Nihilego eggs Yuga had placed in the main Ecopark began hatching one after another. These creatures, resembling jellyfish, floated about in the sky all day, their soft tentacles drifting and waving. The other Pokémon living in the main Ecopark kept their distance from them.
Fortunately, they were quite afraid of Nana and obediently followed her instructions, so Yuga didn't have to worry much about managing them.
Watching the white jellyfish creatures drifting all around, Yuga started thinking about where to house them, as keeping them floating around the main Ecopark wasn't ideal.
After considering it for a long time, Yuga decided to move them to Island No. 2 in the Shallow Sea Beach.
Originally, the Pokémon on Island No. 2 were members of the Oddish and Hoppip families, Pokémon gifted to Yuga by his master.
With the completion of the new Ecopark, YoYo Day Care had established partnerships with many smaller Pokémon Day Care, so the low potential Pokémon from the Oddish and Hoppip families had already been relocated.
Taking this opportunity, Yuga decided to move the remaining high potential Pokémon to the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark, allowing all the Grass-type Pokémon to live together. The vacated space on Island No. 2 would be perfect for housing the Nihilego.
Wasting no time, Yuga quickly relocated the Oddish and Hoppip families to the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark, then had Nana lead the Nihilego to Island No. 2.
As expected, the Nihilego were very pleased with Island No. 2. For these drifting creatures, the limited space of the main Ecopark had felt constricting, but the open skies above Island No. 2 provided them with plenty of room to float freely.
To facilitate management, Nana also moved from the main Ecopark to Island No. 2 to stay with the Nihilego.
The Oddish and Hoppip families loved their new home as well. The Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark was clearly more suitable for them than Island No. 2. There, they could enjoy the blessings of Florges's Grassy Terrain and live in great comfort.
After settling the Nihilego, Yuga was about to check on Island No. 1 when he saw Archeops flying over with a sorrowful look on its face.
"What's wrong?" Yuga asked, puzzled.
Archeops said nothing, simply gesturing for Yuga to get on its back, then flew him toward Island No. 3.
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