Yuga and the others quickly contacted the forest rangers. The rangers then got in touch with the Ranger Union, and after understanding the situation, the Ranger Union dispatched personnel as quickly as possible to handle the matter.
In the end, the group of Jumpluff was escorted out of Petalburg Woods by two rangers.
Since the Ranger Union only sent people the next day, Yuga, Officer Saskia , and the others spent the night in Petalburg Woods.
Next came the matter of Togekiss. After a night's rest, thanks to Yuga's treatment, its injuries had almost fully healed. So, once the Jumpluff had left, Yuga proposed capturing it.
A Pokémon with both excellent potential and level—now that he had encountered it, Yuga certainly wouldn't let it go easily.
Although Saskia and the others had guessed that this Togekiss was probably of high quality, no one tried to compete with Yuga for it. Not only because of Yuga's identity, but also because Togekiss had been rescued by him, so naturally, others had no right to fight over it.
After all, there was only one Togekiss.
However, Yuga wasn't a stingy person. He promised that if he successfully caught Togekiss, he would give everyone present a jar of top-quality Pokéblocks once they got back.
That made everyone extremely happy, including Saskia. Top-quality Pokéblocks were not only very expensive, but even if one had money, they weren't easy to obtain. And now, they were getting them for free.
Who doesn't love free stuff?
Because of the life-saving favor Yuga had shown, when he asked Togekiss if he could capture it, Togekiss immediately agreed without hesitation.
Then, the capture battle began. Yuga didn't bully Togekiss and sent out his weakest Pokémon, Salamence.
(Note: Decidueye and Abomasnow had already broken through to the Elite level earlier, and Kartana's strength was even above both of them.)
Currently, Salamence's level was roughly the same as Togekiss's—they were both on the verge of breaking through to the Elite level. Moreover, Salamence was at a type disadvantage against Togekiss, so Yuga wasn't gaining any unfair advantage.
Still, the result was no surprise. Salamence was a Pokémon Yuga had carefully raised, and it often received special training from his father. How could it possibly lose to a wild Pokémon?
Type advantage or disadvantage? Just fluff.
After the battle ended, Yuga successfully captured Togekiss. Having experienced a hearty and satisfying battle, Togekiss wholeheartedly accepted Yuga.
Togekiss was a straightforward Pokémon and had always held great respect for the strong.
With everything resolved and the Pokémon captured, Yuga and the others decided to leave Petalburg Woods.
However, Yuga separated from Saskia and the others halfway through because Togekiss wanted to go home and pack its "luggage" before leaving. After all, it might not get another chance to return. It couldn't just leave behind everything it had accumulated.
So, Yuga let Saskia and the others go on ahead.
Togekiss lived in a big tree in Petalburg Woods. There was nothing particularly special about the environment, but the advantage was that the tree was a fruit tree that bore fruit all year round. Living there meant never having to worry about food.
Back then, Togekiss had gone through quite a struggle to claim the spot and build its nest there. It had to defeat batch after batch of challengers.
The big tree wasn't far from the canyon. Under Togekiss's guidance, Yuga arrived at the destination in no time.
However, once Togekiss returned home, the sight before its eyes filled it with rage—its nest had already been taken over by a rival Pidgeot, and the ground beneath the tree was covered with leftover fruit pits.
When the Pidgeot saw Togekiss return, it was just as surprised. Togekiss had been missing for more than ten days. During that time, the Pidgeot, full of worry, had taken over the place and stayed there the entire time, always afraid that Togekiss might suddenly come back one day.
But after more than ten days with no news of Togekiss, it had gradually calmed down, thinking that perhaps Togekiss had already died in the canyon. It never expected Togekiss to actually return.
"Togekiss~!"
Togekiss let out an angry cry and immediately lunged at Pidgeot. Its wings vibrated rapidly, and blade after blade of wind was slashed toward Pidgeot.
Startled, Pidgeot quickly flew out of the nest, and the nest beneath it was instantly destroyed by Togekiss's Air Slash.
Seeing the carefully built nest completely ruined made Togekiss even angrier. (Pidgeot: Wasn't it you who destroyed it?)
But Pidgeot wasn't afraid of Togekiss. Once it flew into the sky, it launched a counterattack. Its massive, powerful wings flapped forcefully, and a roaring Hurricane attack surged toward Togekiss with even more intensity than Air Slash.
While the two Pokémon were battling, Yuga activated his Insight skill to look at the Pidgeot.
..
[ Pidgeot ]
Type: Normal, Flying
Ability: Keen Eye
Gender: Male
Potential: Blue
Level: 68
Moves: Tackle, Gust, Twister, Quick Attack, Feather Dance, Agility, Roost, Air Slash, Tailwind, Hurricane, Steel Wing, Aerial Ace, Double Team, U-turn, Defog.
...
Yuga was a bit surprised that this Pidgeot also had blue potential. Its level was just slightly lower than Togekiss's.
The two Pokémon fought back and forth in the air, with Togekiss holding a slight upper hand.
Pidgeot had coveted Togekiss's nest for a long time and often came looking for trouble. If Togekiss weren't stronger, it might have already been driven out.
Speaking of the grudge between Pidgeot and Togekiss, it could be traced back quite a while.
When Togekiss first claimed this place, it was full of spirit and pride. Although many other Pokémon had come to challenge it, they were all driven away one by one.
Back then, Pidgeot was still just a Pidgey and lived nearby. It had witnessed Togekiss's majesty and secretly developed feelings for it.
But the Pidgey back then was not the same as the majestic Pidgeot now. It had just been one of many ordinary bird Pokémon in Petalburg Woods and didn't have the courage to confess to the "goddess" Togekiss.
However, one day, Togekiss happened to run into Pidgey. Pidgey didn't dare to approach and just hid in the bushes to watch Togekiss from afar.
But Togekiss was clever. When it noticed Pidgey, it immediately saw through Pidgey's feelings and bluntly told it.
"You're too weak and not good-looking. You're not worthy of me. You'd better give up early!"
Pidgey was left completely confused by Togekiss's sudden and strange remarks. It had never intended to confess!
How did I offend you?
Still, Togekiss's words deeply humiliated it.
You don't have to like me, but you can't insult me like that!
To Togekiss, that incident was a trivial matter. By now, it had long forgotten who that Pidgey even was. But for the pure-hearted Pidgey, it had left a deep scar.
Later, Pidgeot left that place of heartbreak and wandered around the outside world for a long time.
No one expected that it would encounter a lucky opportunity during its time away—not only did its potential improve, but its strength also took a huge leap. After wandering full circle, it eventually returned to this very place.
After returning, the newly evolved Pidgeot no longer held the same admiration for Togekiss as it once did. Instead, it had set its sights on Togekiss's nest.
Though the Pidgeot had changed from before, it still hadn't truly turned the tables. It attacked Togekiss multiple times, but every time it came just a bit short, and in the end, had no choice but to retreat in frustration.
That is, until over ten days ago, when Togekiss fell into the canyon.
The battle in the sky continued, and Yuga had no intention of intervening. However, when Pidgeot saw that it still couldn't do anything to Togekiss, it decided, just like always, to temporarily retreat.
But Yuga hadn't planned on letting it leave. Just as Pidgeot was about to fly away, a Decidueye flew out from the Poké Ball in Yuga's hand.
Decidueye drew its bow and nocked an arrow—an instant later, a black arrow shot forth and hit Pidgeot directly. With a cry of pain, Pidgeot suddenly realized that it couldn't move at all.
(Note: This is the effect of the Spirit Shackle move, which immobilizes the target by pinning its shadow, preventing escape.)
This gave the furious Togekiss the perfect chance. It landed a Dazzling Gleam squarely on Pidgeot. The bird, having just taken a hit from an Elite-level Pokémon, tilted its head and fainted instantly, dropping straight down from the sky.
Yuga swiftly threw a Poké Ball and captured it, thinking to himself: With these two enemies now both in the Day Care, things are probably going to get pretty lively.
Togekiss was clearly unhappy about Yuga capturing Pidgeot and stared at him with discontent. Yuga had no choice but to brush it off, saying, "Alright, let's pack up quickly. It's getting late—if we take any longer, we won't be able to make it back today."
Previously, Yuga had told Togekiss that there were many Togepi, Togetic, and Togekiss at his home. Having always lived alone, this Togekiss was really looking forward to meeting members of its kind, so it quickly forgot about Pidgeot.
Because its nest had been smashed, Togekiss's belongings were scattered everywhere. Yuga had to help it pack everything up.
In truth, Togekiss didn't have much in the way of valuable items—just some odd stones picked up from the forest, some unidentifiable seeds, fruits, medicinal herbs, and the like. From Yuga's perspective, none of it seemed worth bringing back.
But to Togekiss, all of it was its cherished treasures. Others wouldn't understand their value, so it insisted on taking everything with it.
Besides Togekiss's items, there were also some things that belonged to Pidgeot scattered in the nest. Since it had planned to move in, Pidgeot had brought along all its belongings too.
Coincidentally, Pidgeot's aesthetic tastes were surprisingly similar to Togekiss's. Both loved collecting all sorts of strange and quirky objects.
But now, all of those things belonged to Togekiss.
Once everything was packed, Yuga brought Togekiss back to Verdanturf City. By then, Verdanturf had returned to normal, and the streets were bustling with people out for a stroll.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the police and Mayor Ishida, the recent mass-sleep incident hadn't left a major impact on the town. Once it was over, life simply returned to the way it used to be.
After returning home, the first thing Yuga did was go to the gym to check on Serena. Although he already knew she was safe, he still couldn't quite rest easy.
The moment he stepped through the gym's front gate, he heard joyful laughter coming from the courtyard—it turned out Serena was playing happily with Shoryu, Haruki, and Natsuhiko.
Shoryu was the first to spot Yuga coming in. He dashed over and asked with concern, "Gym Leader, you're back! Did you settle everything?"
Yuga ruffled the boy's fluffy hair and said, "All done. Nothing to worry about."
Shoryu nodded. "Mhm, I knew everything would be fine once you stepped in."
Yuga chuckled at his words and gave him a pat, then turned to Serena and asked, "Serena, are you alright now?"
Serena jumped in place energetically and said, "Look, lively as ever!"
The Chatot chirped in protest, "Aren't you even going to ask how I'm doing? I got hit too!"
Yuga rolled his eyes at it. "I don't even have to ask to know you're more energetic than anyone else."
Chatot sighed dramatically, "So heartless," which made everyone burst into laughter.
After chatting with the group for a while, Yuga parted ways with them and returned to the day care, planning to get Togekiss and Pidgeot settled in.
Yuga first brought Togekiss to Lake Island No. 3 in the Shallow Sea Sub-Ecopark to see its kind. Seeing so many members of its own species, Togekiss was overjoyed.
The Togekiss clan also warmly welcomed the new member, so Togekiss happily settled down on Lake Island No. 3.
As for Pidgeot… Yuga didn't plan to place it there. He still didn't know the full story between the two Pokémon, but he had a hunch that if they were placed together, they'd start fighting immediately.
So Yuga headed to the base camp of the Flying-type Pokémon—the Grassland Sub-Ecopark.
The Grassland Sub-Ecoparn was full of life. In the distance, Pokémon were working diligently in the herb fields and orchards. Shadows of Swellow and Starly occasionally darted across the sky. Tauros were either lying down to rest or grazing with their heads low, enjoying a very relaxed life.
Yuga first went to meet the leaders of the bird Pokémon—Honchkrow and Swellow—hoping they could look after Pidgeot for now.
After Yuga released Pidgeot, the Pokémon looked around warily and immediately tried to fly away, but was smacked down by Honchkrow with a single flap of its wing.
Honchkrow was highly gifted and had already broken through to the Elite level in recent years, so handling Pidgeot was no problem at all.
Even Swellow's level wasn't far behind Pidgeot's. If not for its limited potential, it too would've reached Elite level long ago.
Honchkrow, with its cold demeanor and the commanding presence unique to a true leader, instantly overwhelmed Pidgeot.
"Stay here and behave yourself. Don't cause trouble," Yuga told Pidgeot. "As long as you behave, I won't treat you poorly."
Pidgeot didn't respond. Still nursing its injuries and having just taken another hit from Honchkrow, it stayed low on the ground without moving.
Swellow walked around Pidgeot in circles, putting on an air of superiority, relying on the strength of its wife. It even made repeated "tsk tsk" sounds at Pidgeot, acting as annoyingly smug as ever.
Yuga wasn't surprised at all. Ever since Honchkrow broke through to Elite level, Swellow had taken full advantage of that, acting high and mighty in the Grassland Sub-Ecopark, as if no other Pokémon in the world dared mess with it.
Seeing that Pidgeot didn't react, Yuga turned to Honchkrow and said, "I'll leave it to you."
Honchkrow gave a brief nod and then silently watched as Yuga left the Ecopark.