972 Team Aqua

After dispersing the Pelipper and Wingull, Yuga and Brawly, led by Basolo, arrived at the place on Dewford Island where they breed Torchic.

As soon as they arrived, Yuga heard the cheerful cries of many fluffy, yellow and orange Torchic, "Torchic, Torchic." The scene was very pleasant.

In addition to Torchic, Yuga and Brawly also saw a certain number of Combusken and Blaziken, but their numbers were far fewer than Torchic.

For the League breeding base, apart from keeping a sufficient number of breeding Pokémon every time, the Torchic that reach the appropriate age are sent to various Pokémon Professors for distribution to new Trainers or awarded to deserving League Trainers.

Therefore, there aren't many Torchic left in the breeding base to evolve into Combusken or Blaziken, but when they are left behind, they are undoubtedly the best among their batch.

Basolo, deserving of being just a step away from the top breeders, focused on Fire-type Pokémon breeding. Therefore, in addition to Torchic, Combusken, and Blaziken, a considerable number of other Fire-type Pokémon were also bred here, with the most numerous being Magbi.

The Magbi clan is not very common Pokemon, and they often live near volcanoes, making them demanding in terms of their living environment.

According to Basolo, the ancestors of this batch of Magbi were discovered near this dormant volcano when the breeding base was established. The person in charge at the time decided to keep them.

Now, the Magbi clan is the most representative among all the Pokémon in the entire Dewford Island breeding base, except for Torchic.

This natural breeding base has many other staff members, and their arrival did not cause much of a reaction among the workers. They continued to focus on their own tasks.

"Blaziken!"

As they entered the Torchic area of the breeding base, a robust Blaziken jumped over to Basolo.

Seeing Blaziken, Basolo immediately introduced him with enthusiasm, "This is my Blaziken. Although I'm not a Trainer, Blaziken has been my long-time partner!"

This Blaziken has blue potential and is one of the rewards given to Basolo by the League when he was promoted to a senior breeder. After years of breeding, the Blaziken's level has already reached the pseudo-Elite level.

Blaziken was not trained through a Trainer's methods but was entirely cultivated by Basolo using his breeding knowledge of Fire-type Pokémon. It shows just how excellent Basolo's breeding abilities are.

Basolo's Blaziken gave off a cool vibe. However, when it heard Basolo introducing itself to Yuga and Brawly, it nodded politely in their direction.

"Blaziken!"

Hello.

Yuga could sense the friendliness in the Blaziken's call, so he smiled and said, "Hello" to it.

Of course, Brawly and Basolo were unaware that Yuga understood the Blaziken's words, and the Blaziken itself didn't know either. It simply perceived Yuga's greeting as a normal one, and Yuga didn't feel the need to explain.

As he wandered around the Torchic group, Yuga's inherent affinity due to his special ability attracted many Torchic to gather around him. This made Basolo envy, and he said, "I didn't expect Gym Leader Shimizu to be so popular with Torchic."

Yuga chuckled and gently patted the fluffy head of a Torchic without saying anything.

In fact, his special ability had the highest affinity for Grass-type Pokémon and the lowest for Dark-type Pokémon, with slightly above-average affinity for Pokémon of other types. However, even this "slight" boost was enough to make the Pokémon like Yuga.

Torchic had a significantly higher body temperature compared to other species of Pokémon, so Yuga was soon covered in sweat while being surrounded by Torchic. He had to quickly move away from them.

As Yuga distanced himself from the Torchic, they collectively let out disappointed calls, "Torchic, Torchic," and continued their enthusiastic noises.

The day of the Pokemon starter breeding project competition was the last day of April, and after it ended, May officially began. Due to the generally higher temperatures in Dewford Island, May had already entered the hot summer season.

Anybody would find it challenging to endure the summer when surrounded by Fire-type Pokémon.

Yuga was allowed to take away 100 Torchic with yellow potentials and 30 with green potentials, which was quite a large number.

In return, starting from the second year, Yuga had to provide the League with five Torchic with green potentials and ten with yellow potentials every year, with the remaining Torchic at his disposal.

According to the regulations, the Torchic he took away in the first year from the breeding base could only be used for breeding purposes and not for any other use.

If Yuga failed to deliver the specified number and potential of Torchic for two consecutive years, the YoYo Day Care would lose the qualification as a Torchic breeding base. Additionally, they would have to return the initial 100 yellow and 30 green Torchic the League had given them. If they still couldn't meet the requirements, they'd have to pay a significant fine.

The potential penalty for failing to meet the requirements was a substantial amount of money. The League didn't use market prices for such penalties; otherwise, it wouldn't be considered a penalty but compensation.

At the Pokemon Starters breeding base on Dewford Island, high potential Torchic and ordinary Torchic were strictly kept separate during their development. With Basolo's guidance, Yuga quickly obtained the required number of Torchic.

Having achieved their goal, Yuga and Brawly left the Pokemon Starters breeding base, and declining Mr. Basolo's offer to see them off.

While Yuga was busy selecting Torchic on Dewford Island, on the affiliated islands near Dewford Island, two men, one older and one younger, noticed something unusual.

The Pelipper and Wingull living near Dewford Island generally inhabited the smaller affiliated islands, as the main island was heavily populated by humans, so they rarely ventured to the main island.

The group of Pelipper and Wingull that had returned from the main island immediately gathered and flew toward a specific location before leaving the range of Dewford Island.

The two men exchanged glances and decided to track the Pelipper and Wingull.

They both used capture devices to capture one Pelipper each and then mounted them, following the group of Pelipper and Wingull. It didn't take long for them to move out of the range of Dewford Island.

These two individuals were the Rangers sent by the Ranger Union to investigate the situation after Mr. Basolo reported it. Rangers could be divided into Resident Rangers and Roaming Rangers.

Resident Rangers were stationed in a specific area, responsible for monitoring and protecting the local Pokémon and ecosystems. This type of Ranger's job was quite monotonous and usually required individuals who could tolerate solitude, like the Resident Rangers in the Petalburg Woods.

Roaming Rangers, on the other hand, had to travel to different regions to address various sudden ecological problems and Pokémon-related disasters. Compared to Resident Rangers, Roaming Rangers faced more dangerous tasks, so the selection criteria and requirements for Roaming Rangers were higher. Roaming Rangers were generally considered the elite among the Rangers.

The two individuals who came to Dewford Island were Roaming Rangers. The older one was the main leader, and the younger one was a trainee. The trainee, although young, had shown excellent performance in the assessment, which is why the Ranger Union assigned him to be mentored by the older Ranger. This arrangement was intended to provide the younger Ranger with more experience and guidance since he wasn't yet ready for solo missions.

However, when they arrived on Dewford Island, they had not yet discovered the specific cause of the situation and hadn't had the chance to inform Mr. Basolo.

The two of them followed the Pelipper and Wingull, eventually flying to a deserted island near Dewford Island.

Though this island was supposed to be uninhabited, the two Rangers discovered a building on the island, seemingly erected at some point. The Pelipper and Wingull immediately initiated an attack on the building as soon as they landed on the island.

Nearly a thousand Pelipper and Wingull unleashed a barrage of various Water-type, Flying-type, and normal-type moves simultaneously, targeting the central structure of the island.

While the Pelipper and Wingull attacked the building, Jackie and his trainee had discreetly hidden.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The building, under intense assault, erupted into violent explosions, which quickly alerted the people inside.

Leading the group was a bearded man in a blue uniform with a pirate bandana on his head. It was none other than Archie, the former leader of the Team Aqua. By his side were two former executives of the Team Aqua, Shelly and Matt.

Although the group of Pelipper and Wingull was numerous, their strength was relatively low. In contrast, Archie, Shelly, and Matt were formidable Trainers. This group of Pokémon was no match for them and the Team Aqua grunts.

Under the Team Aqua's counterattack, the Pelipper and Wingull suffered significant losses.

Archie had been rather irritable lately. Dealing with these Pelipper and Wingull had been a constant nuisance. They returned to cause trouble every few days. If this continued, they would eventually draw the attention of the Pokémon League.

However, it was good for them that their business on this island was almost complete, and they could soon move on.

Since joining Team Rocket, Archie had realized how limited his previous perspective was. Team Rocket was a true major power. They could even create a Legendary Pokemon. This was something Archie had only dreamed of.

Although the Legendary Pokemon recently defected, it didn't change the fact that Team Rocket was incredibly powerful. In terms of technology and financial resources, they were far ahead of the Team Aqua.

When Archie first joined Team Rocket, it had been a decision made out of necessity. However, now, he was fully convinced. He believed that Giovanni was the one who could lead him to the ideal world he had always envisioned.

Due to the defection of the Legendary Pokemon known as "Mewtwo," Team Rocket suffered significant losses. They've accelerated their research on Pokémon cloning and replication. As a branch of Team Rocket in Hoenn region, the Team Aqua was also assigned tasks related to this research.

Their mission revolved around cloning Kyogre. It's evident that Team Rocket's goal is to recreate a "Legendary Pokemon" similar to "Mewtwo."

However, the creation of Mewtwo was highly accidental, and the researchers responsible for its creation were already eliminated by Mewtwo. All research data was lost as well, which has posed a significant challenge to Team Rocket.

The attacks on Devon Corporation's laboratories in various regions are also related to this matter, as they were seeking a breakthrough through the resurrection equipment in these labs.

In fact, the Team Aqua has been involved in experiments related to Kyogre for a while. Yuga's Lapras is also a product of these experiments. However, they though the experiments were unsuccessful, as none of the subjects survived.

Recently, with the Team Aqua gained financial and technological support, they've resumed these experiments and earned the approval of Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket.

The unusual appearances of the Pelipper are related to their experiments. They've made significant progress in this experiment, which led to changes in the nearby marine ecosystem, including a drastic drop in sea temperatures.

Pelipper and Wingull are common in Hoenn region due to its warmer marine environment compared to other regions. The changes in the temperature have adversely affected their lives. As a result, they've been seeking refuge near the volcanic region of Mt. Kardos on the Dewford Island, as it's a special location with minimal impact from the changes.

However, the root of the problem lies in the Team Aqua's experimental base on this uninhabited island. This is why the Pelipper and Wingull often come to disturb the Team Aqua personnel.

While these Pelipper and Wingull are persistent, they have limited strength, and the Team Aqua has been unable to solve the issue.

Considering the recent troubles caused by this group of Pokémon, Archie was angry. His attacks against the Pelipper and Wingull have become increasingly fierce.

Jackie didn't anticipate the presence of the Team Aqua on this uninhabited island. As he witnessed more and more of the Pelipper and Wingull getting injured, he grew extremely anxious.

"Go back and get reinforcements. I'll try to find a way into that building. I have no idea what's happening here!" Jackie knew that the two of them couldn't handle the situation on their own, so he sent his apprentice to fetch help.

"But leaving you alone..." His apprentice hesitated.

Jackie patted his shoulder and reassured him, "Don't worry. I've been an roaming ranger for many years; I can take care of myself."

His apprentice had no choice but to leave, and Jackie took advantage of the Matts to sneak into the Team Aqua's experimental base.

His apprentice, riding a Magnezone, quickly left the uninhabited island but was soon spotted by Archie.

Archie also had a Pelipper, and this particular one had a sharp gaze, giving it excellent detection and counter-detection abilities.

This Pelipper immediately noticed the boy flying away from the island and issued a warning to Archie.

Upon seeing the boy gradually leaving the island, Archie turned to Matt beside him and said, "Go capture that brat."

Matt responded and released two Golbats, which flew on either side of the boy, chasing him alongside his Magnezone.

Once Matt left, Archie turned to Matt and said, "You handle things here; I'll go check it out."

"Yes!" Matt replied.

With Matt in charge, Archie turned and briskly entered the experimental base.