The Persian

Steven's shipment of meteorites arrived at the entrance of the YoYo Day Care in just a couple of days.

There were a considerable number of meteorites, suggesting that Steven had probably emptied his entire collection, possibly in response to Yuga's generous offering of Aggron armor pieces.

Upon receiving the meteorites, Yuga transported them all to the Pokémon Center. Not all meteorites were suitable for his purposes, so further testing was necessary.

Even though Yuga had given prior notice, Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center was still taken aback by the substantial pile of rocks before her.

"So many?" Nurse Joy exclaimed, her mouth agape.

Yuga awkwardly scratched his head, saying apologetically, "Is it going to be troublesome for you?"

He hadn't anticipated that Steven would send this many.

Nurse Joy shook her head and replied, "It's not exactly troublesome, but this quantity will take a lot of time, won't it?"

The meteorites sent by Steven were all small pieces, with some even smaller than a fist. It was easier to work with larger pieces, as each meteorite, regardless of size, required a small sample for testing. However, with small-sized meteorites and a large quantity, the process became more challenging.

Fortunately, the testing equipment Yuga needed to borrow wasn't commonly used at the Pokémon Center, or it would have disrupted their normal operations.

Yuga ended up spending an entire day at the Pokémon Center, and he even forgot to have lunch until Nurse Joy prepared it for him.

In the evening, Yuga was still not finished, so Nurse Joy decided to lend a hand.

The testing process was quite complex. Each meteorite needed to be labeled, and they had to remember which test corresponded to which meteorite. Without Nurse Joy's assistance, Yuga would have been overwhelmed.

Thus, the work with the meteorites continued for three days before they could conclude the initial phase.

During these three days, Yuga practically lived at the Pokémon Center, leaving his bunch of kids at home in his aunt's care.

In the process, Yuga and Nurse Joy, whose name was actually Joeyka, became more acquainted with each other. Yuga was extremely grateful for Joeyka's enthusiastic assistance. He remembered how she had readily helped him the first time he came to test the meteorite composition.

She truly was a gentle Miss Joeyka!

Once the testing results were available, Yuga easily identified the meteorites that had no effect. What surprised him, however, was that out of this large batch, fewer than five contained the special substance. The quantity was disappointingly low.

Furthermore, even the largest of these meteorites were only about the size of Yuga himself, making him realize that meteorites containing this unique substance were likely extremely rare.

Yuga kept these special meteorites aside and stored the others in the Ecopark. He wasn't particularly interested in collecting meteorites, and it wouldn't be suitable to return them to Steven, so this seemed like the best solution.

Yuga's next task was to find a suitable method to neutralize the special substance within the meteorites.

One of the first thoughts that came to Yuga's mind was the radiation emitted by this substance. Joeyka had mentioned that it had strong radiation, but this radiation didn't harm living creatures.

Yuga believed that there might be a breakthrough in this aspect of research.

Sometimes, he wondered if he should change careers and become a researcher. Managing a Day Care required studying all these matters, and it was quite challenging!

As he gazed at the pile of meteorites in the main garden, Yuga let out a sigh of relief. Even Chimecho, who was helping him move the stones, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief mimicking Yuga's actions, though she couldn't understand why Yuga was laughing when he exhaled.

Watching Chimecho's clueless expression, Yuga burst into even more laughter.

Just as Yuga was heartily laughing, Meowth suddenly arrived at his feet. The cat gently let out a meow, then leaped onto the pile of meteorites, gazing silently at Yuga and Chimecho.

Yuga stopped laughing, looking at Meowth. He asked, "What's up, Meowth? Do you need something?"

"Meow!"

Meowth licked its paw and let out a soft meow. Both its voice and actions seemed incredibly lazy, a stark contrast to its usual self.

Considering Meowth's mischievous personality, it was rare to see it in such a lazy state as today.

Yuga climbed onto the rocks, approaching Meowth. He gently touched Meowth's body and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Meow!"

Meow Meowthed again, then shook its head, indicating that it wasn't experiencing any discomfort.

Meowth's attitude toward Yuga had changed significantly.

In the past, Meowth had seen Yuga as a long-term meal ticket. However, perhaps due to Yuga's affable nature, Meowth gradually accepted him.

Just then, a faint white light began to emanate from Meowth's body, then dissipated.

Seeing this white light, Yuga exclaimed in surprise, "Meowth, are you about to evolve?"

"Meow!"

Meowth nodded in response to Yuga's question.

No wonder Meowth's behavior had changed; it was going through the transformation into a Persian.

Persian was known for its seemingly lazy disposition, constantly exuding an air of indolence. Many non-trainers adored Persian's laid-back personality, making it a highly popular Pokémon.

However, most people were deceived by Persian's lazy demeanor.

The reason they acted this way was because Persian possessed high intelligence. It adopted a disdainful attitude towards everything and everyone outside of itself, and it showed no mercy when hunting.

So, don't underestimate a cat, or you might end up at a disadvantage!

"Congratulations, Meowth!"

Yuga was genuinely delighted about Meowth's impending evolution.

As soon as Yuga spoke, Meowth's body began to emit a brilliant white light. Its form started elongating, and it shifted from standing on two hind legs on the meteorite pile to all fours on the ground.

When the white light completely dissipated, Meowth had transformed into an elegant Persian. The ruby on its forehead gleamed brightly.

"Persian, I look forward to working with you in the future."

Yuga said as he touched Persian's smooth, silky fur.

After Yuga finished petting Persian, it leaped off the meteorite pile, completely ignoring Yuga, and walked away.

Halfway through, Persian turned around, cast a disdainful glance at Yuga, and walked through the gateway to the Grassland Sub-Ecopark.

Yuga suddenly felt his heart shatter. Just when he had developed a good relationship with Meowth, it evolved and acted like a liberated soul.

As he watched Persian's figure disappear through the gateway to the Grassland Sub-Ecopark, Yuga's expression remained dazed.

"Chimecho... Chimecho... Chimecho..."

Chimecho, who had witnessed the whole scene, didn't hesitate to "mock" her trainer with hearty laughter.

Mock me all you want; I guess I deserved it! Ah-ha-ha... Ah-ha-ha... Let's hurt each other, shall we?