Chapter 1060: Sunlight Pearl

As they gazed at the endless stretch of yellow sand, Yuga and his group had no way of determining their location.

"We should get out of here quickly," Yuga said to everyone.

So, the group mounted their Pokémon and prepared to leave.

Jessie, James, and Meowth wailed when they saw this.

"Mr. Shimizu, take us with you too!!!"

Max pointed at them and said, "You've been following us the whole time, haven't you? We kindly brought you out of Mirage Tower, and yet you still have the nerve to keep following us!"

Jessie stubbornly retorted, "So what if we're following you? It's not like you've lost anything!"

Meowth chimed in, "Yeah, exactly!"

May angrily said, "Don't think we don't know your goal. You're after Ash's Pikachu, aren't you?"

Jessie refused to admit it, "Just because you say so doesn't mean it's true! I could say you're envious of us too!"

As Jessie, Meowth, and Max and May quarreled, James awkwardly said, "Mr. Shimizu, do you still remember me? I'm James, Finn's younger brother, James! We met in Venderturf Town."

Yuga glanced at James and Jessie and said, "Fine, let's bring them along."

"But…" Max was very reluctant, but seeing Yuga's resolute attitude, he had to swallow his retort and instead said to Jessie and James, "You'd better not cause us any trouble on the way, or we'll leave you here to eat sand!"

Jessie, grinning cheekily, said, "I promise I won't do anything extra!" James and Meowth quickly followed suit and promised as well.

After the group set off, Ash asked Max, who was sitting in front of him, "Who is Finn? Is he close to Mr. Shimizu?"

Max thought for a moment and replied, "I think he's an employee at Yuga's family's daycare, so they're probably close." Although Max had stayed at Yuga's house for a while, Finn was a hardcore recluse, so Max didn't know him well.

Ash nodded and didn't ask further.

Unlike Ash and the others, who were riding on Pokémon, Jessie, Meowth, and James had it much worse. They somehow found a large wooden plank and tied it with ropes behind Sawsbuck, who dragged the three of them through the sand.

But the fact that Yuga agreed to bring them along was something Jessie, James, and Meowth were already very grateful for.

"James, I didn't expect you to know that guy named Shimizu. No wonder you kept talking about him. You really came through when it counted!" Jessie praised James generously while sitting on the wooden plank.

"Hehe… Just happened to know him." James said bashfully. He was quite surprised that Yuga still remembered him and was willing to take them along.

He and Yuga had only met once several years ago, during his first official mission after joining Team Rocket. The location was Venderturf Town, though the mission ended in failure.

If Yuga remembered him, he must also remember that he was a member of Team Rocket. Team Rocket and the League are opposing organizations, so Yuga, as a Gym Leader for the League, being willing to take him along, was indeed unexpected.

Yuga wasn't concerned with what Jessie and James were thinking; his attention was focused on the Absol he was riding.

Absol (King's Rock)

Type: Dark

Gender: Male

Ability: Pressure

Potential: Purple

Level: 81

Moves: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Psycho Cut, Future Sight, Pursuit, Roar, Dark Pulse, Stone Edge, Shadow Claw, Megahorn, Perish Song, Night Slash, Slash, X-Scissor, Giga Impact.

He was astonished to find that after the battle with Darkrai, Absol had leveled up, jumping from level 78 to 81, becoming a true Champion-level Pokémon.

There was no doubt this was due to the Unknown Seed! Thinking back to the strange behavior of the Unknown Seed and Absol before leaving Mirage Tower, Yuga naturally connected it to Absol's level-up. Otherwise, it's impossible for a Pokémon to silently advance from Elite Four level to Champion level.

The group had to stop and spend the night in the desert since it got dark soon after. Fortunately, their space backpacks still contained all their supplies, so they had enough food and necessities.

However, the temperature difference between day and night in the desert was extreme. The sand that was scorching during the day became bone-chilling cold at night.

While Yuga and his group were well-prepared and not worried, James, Jessie, and Meowth had it rough. They had left all their belongings in Mirage Tower, and they were freezing at night. Seeing this, Yuga tossed them a blanket, allowing the two and their Pokémon to make it through the night safely.

The next day, they traveled another full day and barely made it out of the desert before nightfall.

But as soon as they exited the desert, Jessie, James, and Meowth somehow slipped away without a word, leaving Max cursing them as ungrateful.

When it comes to making a getaway, that trio is professional.

That night, Yuga and the others stayed in a small village at the edge of the desert. The village was very small, with only a dozen or so households, and it was quite poor. But having a place to rest was enough to make them satisfied.

After asking around in the village, Yuga and his group finally learned where they were. It turned out they hadn't strayed too far from their original route; the closest city to the village was Fortree City.

After resting for the night, Yuga paid the villagers for their hospitality and then continued their journey toward Fortree City. This time, they rode on Flying-type Pokémon and reached Fortree City around noon.

Once in Fortree City, the first thing Yuga did was take Absol to the Pokémon Center for a check-up. Although Absol seemed fine and had even leveled up, Yuga was worried about potential side effects since its level had been stolen from Darkrai.

Fortunately, after a thorough check-up, Nurse Joy assured him that Absol was in excellent health with no issues. Only then did Yuga feel relieved.

However, since they were there, Yuga also asked Nurse Joy to check on Chimecho, as he was similarly concerned about the Unown markings on it.

Unfortunately, Nurse Joy didn't even notice the presence of those Unown on Chimecho, so Yuga had to set the matter aside for now. Whether the Unown are beneficial or harmful to Chimecho remains to be seen.

Afterward, Yuga and Ash's group settled down at the Pokémon Center. Having been through a lot over the past few days, none of them were in the mood to go out and play, so they spent the rest of the day resting at the center.

Yuga took this opportunity to send the Pokémon he obtained from the Mirage Tower back to Verdanturf Town for Audino to handle. Audino was well-versed in dealing with such matters—whether administering Potential potions or assigning Pokémon to the appropriate sub-garden or the new garden—so Yuga didn't need to worry and only needed to give verbal instructions.

The next morning, when Yuga got up, he saw Ash training his Pokémon in the backyard of the Pokémon Center.

In Hoenn, Ash currently has Torkoal, Corphish, Treecko, and Taillow, along with Baltoy and Solrock, which he obtained from the Mirage Tower.

Seeing Yuga approaching, Ash paused his training and said, "Mr. Shimizu, you're up!"

Yuga nodded and said, "Yes, I didn't expect you to be up so early."

Ash scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly, "Hehe... I'm used to it."

"As a Pokémon Trainer, that's a good habit. You should keep it up," Yuga replied with a smile. "By the way, are you planning to challenge the Gym today?"

Ash answered without hesitation, "Of course."

Yuga nodded, "Would it be okay if Lovia and I accompany you to the Gym?"

Ash asked, "Is it for the Gym Assessment?"

...

Thus, the two started talking about Pokémon training.

"Whenever you travel to a new region, you don't bring the Pokémon you've already caught, except for Pikachu?" Yuga asked, pretending not to know.

Ash was taken aback by the question but then nodded, "That's right. I want to start fresh with new Pokémon in each region."

Yuga, puzzled, asked, "Why are you so determined to start over?"

"Why..." Ash was momentarily at a loss. In truth, he couldn't clearly articulate why—it was just something he felt like doing, so he did it.

Seeing Ash was stumped, Yuga continued, "Starting over is fine, but leaving your previous Pokémon at home, expecting them to grow stronger on their own, might be difficult."

Ash wanted to say more, but Yuga changed the topic: "By the way, I've made an interesting discovery these past few days." Sometimes it's best to leave things at that, as Yuga didn't want to say too much.

He then took out one of the pearls obtained from the Mirage Tower. Under the morning sun, the blue-and-white pearl began to shimmer with crystalline light, immediately capturing Ash's attention.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," Ash exclaimed in amazement.

"It's not just beautiful!" Yuga smiled mysteriously and then called over Ash's Solrock. "Watch closely."

Yuga slowly brought the pearl close to Solrock. As soon as the pearl touched Solrock, a faint reddish mist appeared on the surface of the pearl. The mist slowly flowed toward Solrock and was absorbed by it.

After absorbing the mist, Solrock let out a contented sigh.

"What is this? It's amazing!" Ash exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Isn't it?" Yuga said proudly. "By the way, Ash, do you know the legend associated with Solrock?"

Ash shook his head to indicate he didn't know. From childhood, he'd always struggled with academics, and Solrock was a Pokémon he had only encountered after arriving in Hoenn.

Yuga then began to explain: "Solrock is a Rock and Psychic-type Pokémon. It's said that they become stronger during the day and can absorb the sun's energy to power themselves."

Ash, still puzzled, asked, "What does that have to do with what just happened?"

"Of course, it has to do with it! Absorbing solar energy is a natural talent for Solrock, but their ability to utilize solar energy isn't very efficient." Yuga began explaining his discovery about the pearls and Solrock over the past few days.

"These pearls seem to be made from a rare mineral. I looked up some information—this mineral is now hard to find. It can absorb light energy and store it. The energy converted by these pearls is especially suitable for Solrock to absorb, particularly when they're drawing energy from the sun. The pearls enhance this process significantly."

Although Ash didn't fully grasp the concepts of minerals, light energy, and solar energy, he understood the general idea.

"So, this pearl can help Solrock get stronger?"

Yuga nodded, "In simple terms, yes!"

Hearing this, Ash was thrilled, "That's awesome!" He also had one of these pearls, and he was grateful he had followed Yuga's advice earlier; otherwise, he would be left envying Yuga's discovery.

"How exactly should I use this pearl?" Ash eagerly asked Yuga for advice on how to use the pearl.

Yuga didn't hold back, sharing all of his findings about the pearl with Ash.

"You just need to place the pearl in sunlight every day to let it absorb enough solar energy. Afterward, Solrock can easily extract the energy it needs to grow from it... Although the pearl can absorb light energy wherever there's light, it's still..."

And so, the morning passed with the two discussing how to use the pearl to train Solrock. At some point, Brock joined their conversation.

Brock, whose dream was to become a Pokémon Breeder, was particularly interested in this type of knowledge. The more he talked with Yuga, the more he realized Yuga had many unique insights into Pokémon breeding. After their discussion, Brock felt he had learned a lot.

In the end, the three of them even named the pearl "Sunlight Pearl."

In the afternoon, Ash followed his plan to challenge the Fortree Gym. They had already made an appointment in advance, and Yuga and Lovia would accompany them to observe Ash's challenge.

Before setting off, Yuga and Lovia both released their Ditto and used them to alter their facial features, completely changing their appearances, leaving Ash and his friends stunned.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Max exclaimed in wonder.

May, confused, asked, "Why do you and Lovia have to do this, Yuga?"

Yuga explained, "Our purpose in coming to Fortree City is to conduct a Gym Assessment. Since Lovia knows the Gym Leader personally, it's only fair that we hide our identities. Please don't reveal who we are!"

The Fortree Gym Leader, Winona, was Wallace's ex-girlfriend, and Lovia was Wallace's sister, so the two were not only acquainted but also close friends, as their families were long-time friends.

It was Lovia who suggested they disguise themselves when visiting the Fortree Gym.

After hearing Yuga's explanation, Ash and the others immediately promised, "Don't worry, we won't reveal your identities!"

And so, the group set off for the Fortree Gym.

Fortree City is a unique city known for its abundant rainfall and sunshine, which contribute to its exceptionally tall trees. Many of the city's houses are built in the trees, earning it the nickname "the treetop city that plays with nature."

This unique environment also makes Fortree City home to a large number of Bug-type and Flying-type Pokémon. The Fortree Gym is famously known as a Flying-type Gym.

(End of the Chapter)