Chapter 1063: Going Home

Early the next morning, Yuga took Vivillon and Ledian out for training, but Ash, as always, was more diligent and got up earlier than Yuga. After exchanging a brief greeting, the two started training their Pokémon separately. Ledian began teaching Vivillon its flying techniques as requested by Yuga.

Unlike large flying Pokémon like Charizard or Dragonite, which can soar with a single flap of their wings, small bug-type flying Pokémon like Vivillon and Ledian are more affected by strong winds. A strong gust can scatter them easily. Therefore, Ledian's flying techniques are quite different from those of large flying Pokémon.

For instance, while Ledian uses Tailwind to accelerate, it doesn't soar with the wind like bird Pokémon. Instead, it must control the wind and its direction, keeping airflow, whether ascending or descending, under control.

Large Pokémon can ignore weak air currents because their strong bodies make these currents insignificant to them. They can influence airflow simply by moving. But small Pokémon must be cautious because if they don't manage the wind properly, the wind will control them instead.

Ledian's application of Silver Wind is a more advanced development of Tailwind. While Tailwind produces wind currents that must be managed, it still follows the general direction of the wind, making control quite rough.

In contrast, Ledian's Silver Wind requires much more precise control of the wind. Ledian's rapid ascent and descent techniques are particularly impressive, creating very fine spiral air currents around itself. These spirals move very fast, allowing Ledian to perform various maneuvers with ease.

Ledian is about 1.3 to 1.4 meters tall. Yuga observed the tiny spirals, each only slightly larger than a thumb, which looked like miniature tornadoes. These mini tornadoes gather beneath Ledian's transparent wings, and Ledian can control them freely.

Ledian can create up to twenty of these mini tornadoes at once under normal conditions. However, during battles or while escaping, controlling around ten at most is the limit.

While creating mini tornadoes isn't difficult, controlling them is the real challenge. The ease of repeatedly using Silver Wind has significantly increased the likelihood of enhancing the move.

Unfortunately, although Vivillon can learn Tailwind, it cannot learn Silver Wind. Yuga quickly thought of a solution: he had Vivillon use Hurricane instead of Silver Wind. The principle of creating mini tornadoes with Hurricane is similar to Silver Wind, though it is much more challenging to control and lacks the enhancement effect of Silver Wind.

However, Vivillon's strength has never depended on Silver Wind; Quiver Dance is its true specialty. Vivillon faces two main challenges in mastering Ledian's flying techniques:

1. Fine control of Hurricane: Hurricane is a large-scale attack move, and using it with precise control for flight assistance requires controlling flying-type energy with great skill.

2. Integrating Quiver Dance into flying techniques: Vivillon often starts battles with Quiver Dance, not only to dodge attacks but also to perform it effectively amidst enemy attacks. As Vivillon's strength grows, it can now achieve maximum Quiver Dance, stacking six layers simultaneously. Completing this without being attacked is crucial.

After discussing the training plan with Vivillon and Ledian, their day's training began. Vivillon, with its purple talent, grasped the basic flying techniques from Ledian after just a morning of training. Although Vivillon's body structure is quite different from Ledian's, it adapted the techniques well.

Halfway through training, May arrived at the Pokémon Center's backyard, planning to train her Pokémon. Compared to Ash's diligence, May was still lacking.

After a brief greeting with Yuga, May started training in an open area.

Just like in the original anime, May ultimately pursued a career as a Coordinator, influenced by her time spent with Drew.

Currently, May's Pokémon included Swablu, a gift from Yuga on her birthday, Lunatone and Solrock from Mirage Tower, as well as her fully evolved Beautifly and the recently captured Skitty.

Seeing May's Beautifly, Yuga had an idea. Compared to Vivillon, Beautifly seemed more suited to learning Ledian's flying techniques because it could learn Silver Wind, which Vivillon could not.

So he called out to May, "May, would you like to learn a move from my Ledian? I guarantee it will make you shine in the Pokémon Contest."

May was thrilled and ran over eagerly. "Really?" She never doubted Yuga's words.

"Of course!" Yuga nodded and then said to Ledian, "Ledian, show May what you've got."

Ledian demonstrated its impressive flying skills, leaving May in awe.

Yuga smiled and asked, "What do you think? Isn't it worth teaching your Beautifly?"

"Yes, it's amazing!" May eagerly nodded. Such a spectacular flying technique would certainly be a highlight in the contest. However, she then paused and asked Yuga, "By the way, where did this Ledian come from?"

Since Yuga had caught Ledian just the previous day and hadn't mentioned it to anyone, it was May's first time seeing it.

"Oh, I forgot to tell everyone. I caught it yesterday in Ancient Tree Park," Yuga said with a slight smile.

So, May's Beautifly joined Ledian's student group.

However, May's Beautifly wasn't as talented as Vivillon, so learning took more time and effort. Fortunately, Beautifly was persistent and didn't falter despite the setback, showing progress after several hours of training.

Beautiflyand Ledian were so engrossed in their training that they continued well into lunchtime, until Ash finished his training and passed by Yuga and the others.

"Mr. Shimizu and May are here. What are they doing?" he suddenly realized, "Mr. Shimizu is guiding May! How sneaky! I want to learn too!" Ash had come to Fortree City specifically for Yuga's guidance.

In the end, Yuga reluctantly promised to offer Ash some guidance as well, and Ash happily joined Yuga and the others for lunch.

Since they were leaving Fortree City the next day, May, Ash, Brock, and Max continued to explore the city in the afternoon, while Yuga and Lovia visited the Fortree Gym to see Gym Leader Winona.

Having handled the Gym examination, Yuga's visit to the Fortree Gym was mainly to get Nimora Chesto Berry saplings.

When Lovia asked Winona for some Nimora Chesto Berry saplings, Winona agreed without hesitation.

Nimora Chesto Berry saplings were currently worthless in Fortree City. Most saplings from Ancient Tree Park had naturally died after growing for a while. Since Yuga wanted them, Winona gladly provided them.

Moreover, she had a longstanding friendship with Lovia. Their families were close, and apart from a less pleasant breakup with Wallace, she maintained a good relationship with Lovia and was willing to do her a favor.

Winona prepared a hundred saplings for Yuga, all newly grown. After Yuga inspected them, Winona arranged for a convoy to transport the saplings back to Venderturf Town, and Yuga paid for the transportation on the spot.

The next morning, Yuga and his group left Fortree City. Their next stop was Rainbow Town, followed by Sootopolis City, and then passing through Mossdeep City before heading to Green Ridge City.

Mossdeep City's Mossdeep Gym, being a long-established Gym, was not included in this assessment. Yuga and his team were merely passing through.

Additionally, Lovia's daughter, Lisia, had been training with her uncle Wallace at the Sootopolis Gym, so Lovia could take the opportunity to visit her. It had been a while since they last met.

Ash, May, and their group decided to continue traveling with Yuga for a while longer.

During the journey, Yuga not only had Ledian teach May's Beautifly but also fulfilled his promise to guide Ash's training, teaching Pikachu Electroweb, and more efficient meditation techniques for Solrock and Lunatone.

Ash's group parted ways with Yuga on the way to Mossdeep City because May needed to head in another direction to participate in the Pokémon Contest.

By the time they parted, both May and Ash's Pokémon had made significant progress. May's Beautifly had learned the basics of Ledian's flying techniques (though not yet proficient in battles or performances), Swablu had evolved into Altaria, and Ash's Treecko had evolved into Grovyle.

Two months later, after completing the final Gym assessment, Yuga, Lovia, Mr. Norman and Iori reunited in Ever Grande City. They submitted their assessment documents to the Hoenn League Headquarters and then returned to their respective homes.

Once the Gym assessment results were out, the Gym Challenge would follow. This year's Gym Challenge was set to be held in the renowned technological city of Slateport City in the Hoenn Region, with the event scheduled for late summer.

The Hoenn League intended to have Yuga serve as a judge for this year's Gym Challenge, but having been on the road for months and exhausted, Yuga declined. The responsibility fell to Wallace.

It was no exaggeration to call Wallace a workaholic, balancing roles as the Gym Leader of Sootopolis City, the coordinator of the Pokémon Contest, and now adding Gym Challenge judging to his duties.

Additionally, Yuga received another piece of news: due to the Gym Challenge's influence, this year's League Tournament was postponed from late summer to late autumn.

The League Tournament, being of lower priority than the Gym Challenge, had to yield to the Gym Challenge.

However, this was good news for most trainers, as it meant they had more time to prepare and to obtain the necessary Gym badges for participation.

When Yuga returned to the Gym, he was warmly welcomed. After being away for several months, it was quite a feat. That day, nearly all the staff prepared a grand feast to welcome Yuga back, and he enjoyed a satisfying meal.

Later, Yuga visited the Ecology Park to check on the Solrock, Lunatone, and Sunstones that had been transported back. They had all been arranged in the mining sub-garden, living quite well and getting along well with the Beldum family and Tyranitar.

The Nimora Chesto Berry saplings had been planted in the volcanic sub-garden, which, despite its hot climate, had ample water and was a suitable place for the heat-loving and moisture-loving plants.

The saplings had been planted for two months, and except for a few that hadn't survived, most of the Nimora Chesto Berry saplings had revived, though it remained to be seen whether they would fully mature into trees.

During Yuga's absence, the Gym and Daycare were managed well by Beidou and Suzuki, running smoothly and efficiently, showing Yuga's successful delegation of responsibilities.

(End of Chapter)