I'm the Owner of the Pokémon Day Care In the World of Pokémon-Chapter 1400: Investigating Mt. Chimney

After Yuga arrived at the police station, he saw Magby, Smoochum, Mime Jr., Azumarill, and Granbull waiting for him in the corridor.

He had already learned about Smoochum's revenge plan from Dou Dou and Clefairy, so as soon as they met, he scolded Smoochum harshly.

Smoochum had just experienced bullying from the fat and thin trainers and was already feeling aggrieved. Then she heard Yuga say, "As punishment, one month's supply of Sweet Honey is docked."

To encourage the Pokémon in the Ecopark to train hard, Yuga had established a rule of providing each of them a certain quota of Sweet Honey every month. The monthly distribution of Sweet Honey had basically become the most anticipated event for many Pokémon.

(°□°) Yuga's words nearly petrified Smoochum on the spot.

Dou Dou, who had come along with Yuga, silently took mental note of what Yuga said in the little ledger in its heart: for the next month, no Sweet Honey for Smoochum.

Mime Jr. looked at his friend's stunned expression and covered his mouth, snickering quietly. However, Yuga's next words froze that smile on his face.

"You were an accomplice, so you're penalized half a month too!"

Mime Jr. felt utterly wronged. Sure, he was an accomplice, but from beginning to end he didn't even get a chance to do anything. He had just followed Smoochum along for the ride and ended up getting beaten up by a couple of passing fat and thin guys.

Could there be anyone more miserable than him?! Even Clefairy did more—at least Clefairy tricked Dou Dou into coming along.

So Mime Jr. gave Smoochum a bitter, resentful look.

"Smoochum~ Smoochum~"

Smoochum grabbed Mime Jr. tightly, with a face of "sharing hardship together": That's my best friend indeed!

Little did she know that Mime Jr. had already cursed her several times in his heart.

After scolding Mime Jr. and Smoochum, Yuga comforted Magby for a while and then finally turned to Azumarill and Granbull to understand what had happened.

Although Masato Shirai had already given a rough outline over the phone, he couldn't communicate directly with Smoochum and the others, so most of what he said was based on guesses and wasn't detailed.

"You two did a good job this time. I'll reward you properly later!"

After hearing Azumarill and Granbull recount the full events, Yuga praised them. If they hadn't been there, Smoochum and the others might have been abducted.

Of course, Yuga would've been happier if Azumarill had spoken more normally and less like some edgy anime character—saying things like "valiant and fearless," "rescuing innocent younglings from fire and water," "eradicating all injustice in the world"... really unnecessary.

Hearing Yuga's praise, Azumarill was very proud. Feeling that she had accomplished something great, she held her head even higher.

At that moment, Saskia walked out from inside and ran over to Yuga, saying, "Gym Leader Shimizu, our chief wants to see you inside."

Yuga nodded, told Dou Dou to take Smoochum and the others home first, and then followed Saskia to Masato Shirai office.

Half an hour later, Yuga emerged from Masato Shirai's office, having learned the identities of the fat and thin trainers.

The fat and thin trainers were brothers—and not just any brothers, but twins. Probably fraternal twins, since they didn't look too much alike, especially in build and height.

The fat one was the older brother, named Kyoichi. The thin one was the younger brother, named Kyoji. They were both members of Team Radiance, and not just ordinary members—this time they were under orders to go to Mauville City to meet the leader of Team Radiance.

Team Radiance had risen to power suddenly, and their leader's identity had always been a mystery. Who would've thought that today there'd finally be a breakthrough?

Masato Shirai had called Yuga over precisely to ask what to do next. The matter was serious, and he didn't want to act on his own.

Yuga told Masato Shirai not to act rashly for now and to wait until he returned with more information from Mauville City. From the brothers Kyoichi and Kyoji, they had already extracted the location of the meeting with the leader of Team Radiance.

Kyoichi and Kyoji had been planted as secret agents from Team Radiance within Team Aqua long ago. Later, as the remnants of Team Aqua merged with Team Rocket, the brothers infiltrated Team Rocket as well.

According to the information obtained from interrogation, besides the two of them, Team Radiance also had another mole in Team Rocket—a higher-ranking one.

Of course, the brothers didn't know this person's exact identity.

This person had discovered some particularly important information within Team Rocket. So a secret order was issued, telling the brothers to use this mission as an opportunity to meet the leader of Team Radiance and deliver the message.

As secret agents for Team Radiance, the brothers had never met the leader in person. If not for the fact that they couldn't return to Team Rocket after passing on the message, they wouldn't have taken the risk of going to meet the leader.

After so many years undercover, the brothers still hoped to return to their own organization as soon as possible. In another group, their identities might be exposed at any time, and dying wouldn't even be the worst of it.

As for what message the two brothers were actually trying to convey, Masato Shirai didn't ask, because they were using code to deliver the message.

In other words, what they conveyed to the leader of Team Radiance was also a coded message, not specific information.

Moreover, Team Rocket mission they were out executing seemed very important, because the two brothers mentioned the name of a very significant figure in Team Rocket—Proton.

In addition to delivering the message, the brothers had another mission: to sabotage Proton's operation while following him on a mission.

This was also the reason why they wouldn't be able to return to Team Rocket afterward.

Thinking about the complexity of this matter gave Yuga a bit of a headache.

After returning home, Yuga called Wallace and told him the information he had obtained from Masato Shirai today.

Wallace took this information very seriously, and after discussing it with Yuga for a while, they decided to act separately—Yuga would go to Mauville City to investigate the matter concerning the leader of the Team Radiance, and Wallace would send someone else to stake out the place where Proton was carrying out his mission.

After ending the call with Wallace, Yuga informed Masato Shirai of the plan. When Masato Shirai learned that Yuga and the Champion had taken over the matter, he felt a sense of relief.

The Verdanturf Town Police Department simply did not have the strength to get involved in this matter. If Yuga and the Champion were willing to take it on, all the better—anyway, he would still get credit for providing the lead.

In fact, speaking of the credit for providing the lead, he had really just benefited from a stroke of luck. If it hadn't been for Azumarill and Granbull from YoYo Day Care capturing the two individuals and reporting it to the police, he wouldn't have had the chance to interrogate them.

That very day, Yuga rode Dragonite and took Magby with him to Lavaridge Town. He wanted to investigate the matter there as soon as possible, and then head straight for Mauville City.

Fortunately, there was still time before the meeting the brothers had arranged with the leader of the Team Radiance, so making a trip to Lavaridge Town first wouldn't cause a delay.

With Dragonite flying at full speed, Yuga arrived in Lavaridge Town just as the sky was turning dark and appeared at the entrance of the Lavaridge Gym.

In the courtyard of the Lavaridge Gym, Mr. Moore was helping his granddaughter Flannery feed the Pokémon while grumbling, "That unfilial granddaughter, doesn't even handle her own chores, leaving this old sack of bones to do it!"

Flannery's Typhlosion was busy burying its face in food and didn't pay any attention to the old man's complaints. The old guy complained several times a day, but the moment Flannery said anything, he'd immediately run over to help.

There was a knock on the door. Mr. Moore quickly put down his work. "Who is it, coming to challenge the gym so late? Can't a man eat in peace!"

The old man's eyesight wasn't great due to his age, and it was already dark. After opening the door, he squinted for quite a while before he recognized Yuga—only after Yuga spoke.

"Old man, it's me. Did Flannery tell you I'd be coming?"

"Oh~ it's you, kid," the old man's cloudy eyes finally made out Yuga's face.

Speaking of which, Mr. Moore was actually a few decades younger than Yuga's teacher, yet while the teacher now walked with confidence and energy, the old man's eyes were already failing—it really wasn't a comparison.

"Come in, come in!" the old man warmly invited Yuga inside.

He was getting old and would have to go first one day. Of course he hoped that his only granddaughter could make some capable friends so she wouldn't be left helpless in the future. So he treated Yuga with great enthusiasm—perhaps more than he should.

The old man suddenly felt that he had really good judgment. Back when Yuga hadn't yet risen to prominence, he had already "invested" in him. Otherwise, how could they have such a good relationship now?

"I've brought Magby for you," Yuga said, and then Dragonite stepped forward and handed over the Magby it had been holding to the old man.

Seeing the familiar old man, Magby immediately threw itself into his arms, whining and acting spoiled.

It had been hatched personally by the old man and had a better relationship with him than it did with its own Trainer, Flannery.

At that moment, Flannery came out of the house wearing a tank top, drenched in sweat. When she saw Yuga, she called out in surprise, "Ah! Yuga, you're here!"

She had been busy training inside and hadn't noticed the commotion outside.

After hugging and cuddling Magby for a while, Asha finally invited Yuga into the house.

After chatting with the grandfather and granddaughter for a bit, Yuga said, "I actually have another matter I need your help with here in Lavaridge Town."

Upon hearing this, Flannery immediately realized something and said, "I knew you wouldn't come all this way for nothing. What is it? I'll definitely help."

"Tomorrow, I'd like you to take me to Mt. Chimney for a look. There's been a lot going on with the League lately, and I'm worried that what happened at Mt. Chimney a while back may have a different cause, so I want to investigate," Yuga explained.

Mr. Moore had stepped down from his position as an Elite Four member a long time ago. Nowadays, he didn't pay much attention to many of the League's affairs and focused solely on training his granddaughter. However, now that he heard the League was currently going through a turbulent time, there was naturally no reason for him to remain a bystander. He spoke before Flannery could.

"There's nothing to it—tomorrow, let Flannery take you around Mt. Chimney for a look."

Flannery hadn't intended to refuse in the first place, so she followed her grandfather's words and said, "Alright, I'll accompany you up the mountain early tomorrow morning. You can stay at the Gym for the night."

Yuga didn't refuse. He stayed one night at the Lavaridge Gym, and the next morning, he went up the mountain together with Flannery.

As she led Yuga up the mountain, Flannery explained, "Since that incident, quite a few wild Pokémon have left Mt. Chimney. Now the mountain is a lot more desolate than it used to be."

Yuga asked, "Has there been any other panic-inducing incident like that since then?"

Flannery replied, "No, not really. After that suspected volcanic eruption, Mt. Chimney has remained very calm, no different from usual."

Yuga nodded and didn't say much else.

Under Flannery's lead, Yuga arrived in front of a volcanic crater.

"This is the crater where the earliest signs of eruption appeared," Flannery introduced.

Mt. Chimney had more than one volcanic crater, but all of them were extinct volcanoes, having shown no signs of eruption for many years. So that time, it had really frightened the people of Lavaridge Town quite a bit.

"Besides this place, did any of the other craters show the same kind of signs?" Yuga asked again.

"Yes, after this crater started to show faint signs of eruption, not long after, the other craters began showing the same signs," Flannery answered. Otherwise, Magby wouldn't have gotten lost during the chaos. "But the signs disappeared very quickly."

"Let's go down and take a look," Yuga said after observing outside the crater for a while.

"Alright!"

As she spoke, the two of them climbed down along the edge of the crater.

The further down they went, the hotter the temperature became. After reaching the depths, they finally saw the bubbling, scalding lava.

The lava here was extremely quiet, bubbling away with a glug-glug sound, showing no signs of eruption at all.

Yuga walked around for a while, but found nothing, so he released Charizard.

"Charizard, go down and have a look."

"Charizard~"

Charizard responded with a growl and then dove headfirst into the lava.

Seeing this, Flannery's eyes were full of envy. Aside from certain special species of Pokémon, it wasn't easy for ordinary Fire-type Pokémon to bathe in lava.

None of her Pokémon could do it; only her grandfather's veteran Pokémon could.

The two of them waited for over half an hour. Suddenly, the once-peaceful lava began to churn violently, and then Charizard shot out of the lava like an arrow.

"Charizard~"

Charizard's high-pitched roar echoed in the sky, and it stared down at the lava with a grave expression.

Yuga sensed something was wrong. He secretly muttered, "This is bad," and summoned Gengar and Mismagius.

"Gengar, Mismagius!"

The two Pokémon emerged from the shadow space in response and, without needing Yuga's instructions, instinctively and tacitly grabbed Yuga and Flannery and vanished from where they had stood.

The next second, the lava surged and spread to the spot where Yuga and the others had just been standing. Rising up from the lava along with it was a Torkoal wreathed entirely in flames.

...

[ Torkoal ]

Type: Fire

Ability: Shell Armor

Gender: Male

Potential: Purple

Level: 100

Moves: Inferno, Heat Wave, Protect, Shell Smash, Ember, Haze, Withdraw, Fire Spin, Smokescreen, Flame Wheel, Rapid Spin, Flamethrower, Smog, Iron Defense, Amnesia, Sunny Day, Fire Blast, Solar Beam, Overheat, Burn Up, Rock Slide, Earth Power, Fire Lash.

...

Seeing this Pokémon, Yuga was greatly shocked. This shouldn't be! In a place like Lavaridge Town, how could a wild level 100 Pokémon possibly exist? Or rather, as long as it's in the heart of the human world, wild level 100 Pokémon simply shouldn't exist!

Most wild level 100 Pokémon only exist in the wilderness, far away from human civilization, where they live unrelated to humans—just like the other side of the Guli Mountain Range.

The Lavaridge Gym, as an old and established Gym, had relied on Mt. Chimney for survival for so many years. If a powerful Pokémon like this had truly existed here, there was no way they wouldn't have known!

This could only mean that this level 100 Torkoal had appeared here recently, and the unusual changes in Mt. Chimney were probably closely related to it.