Chapter 153: Returning to Fortree City and Observing the Ecological Park

When the two arrived, the area was already under the control of the League. However, as the Champion of the Sinnoh region, Cynthia naturally had the right of access.

Cynthia led Cheng Cheng to the central zone, where a huge crater appeared before Cheng Cheng's eyes. It was indeed identical to the ones that had appeared in the previous regions.

Cheng Cheng released his psychic powers and discovered that the aura here had already faded significantly compared to what he had sensed yesterday. In a little while, it might disappear entirely.

Scanning the entire area, Cheng Cheng found that, just like in the Twin Dragon Mountains, there was no extra residue left behind.

"Ms. Cynthia, could you tell me everything you know about this?"

"Of course. Let's go over there."

Cynthia brought Cheng Cheng to a nearby resting area and began to recount what had happened here.

"At the time, I was in Jubilife City when Garchomp started acting very strangely. It felt as if some immensely powerful entity had arrived here. That's when I remembered what you had told me, and I followed Garchomp right to this place. When I arrived, I discovered a massive crater with a black entity in the center. At the same time, several Pokémon were battling it. You were completely right; that dark spherical monster was extremely powerful, and the local Pokémon were no match for it at all. I had Garchomp join the battle, but even it couldn't win. Later, people from the League arrived and took the dark spherical monster away."

"Ms. Cynthia, I'd like to ask, how did the League people manage to take the dark spherical monster away?"

"Back then, the people from the League brought a kind of machine that directly sucked the dark spherical monster inside, and then they carried it away immediately."

"You mean they took the dark spherical monster away with ease?"

"Indeed. Even at the time, I found it a bit strange. Such a powerful monster shouldn't be so easily captured and removed. What is it? Do you think there's something wrong with this, or perhaps..."

"Oh, not really. I just find it a bit strange. I am certain that this kind of creature does not belong to our Pokémon world; it must be a being from the cosmos. However, what puzzles me is why they came here in the first place, and why they were captured and taken away so effortlessly."

"I am not very clear about these things either, and I have never been particularly interested in investigation. So I'll leave all this investigative work to you."

"No need, actually there isn't much to investigate. I can sense that the aura here is getting weaker and weaker, and apart from the appearance of the dark spherical monster, no other clues were left behind. When I carefully inspected the Twin Dragon Mountains before, there were no clues whatsoever either. Unless I can personally come into contact with this spherical monster. But that's probably very difficult. Once the League takes the dark spherical monster away, it becomes hard for ordinary people to get close to it."

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. However, at the very least, this proves that there is more than one dark spherical monster. The most important thing right now is to first enhance our own strength. No matter what happens in the future, as long as we have strength, we can resolve it."

"You are entirely right. I originally thought my Garchomp was already formidable, but seeing this, we still have a long way to go. I'm going to train my Garchomp thoroughly from now on."

"Let's leave this matter at that for now. I've decided to head back first."

"Alright then, I'll go back with you. I really must thank you for making this trip, it must have been exhausting."

"Not at all. I originally just wanted to come and see what was happening here. Although I didn't get to see the dark spherical monster, I still gathered some information, so it wasn't a wasted trip. Besides, since Ms. Cynthia invited me, how could I possibly refuse?"

"Very well, let's head back."

Cheng Cheng returned to the Pokémon Center and rested well. Judging by the current situation, dark spherical monsters had made their presence known in every region, and they surely had some specific purpose in coming here.

Cheng Cheng temporarily put this matter out of his mind. Since further investigation was impossible for now, he would deal with it later if the opportunity arose.

Early the next morning, Cheng Cheng returned to Jubilife City and boarded an airship bound for Fortree City. After a full day of travel, Cheng Cheng finally arrived back in Fortree City. Having been away for nearly half a year, he wondered how his day-care center was doing.

Upon returning to the day-care center, Cheng Cheng found that Xiaoli and the others had already finished work for the day. Instead of entering the shop immediately, he headed straight up to the second floor.

Just like before, the entire second floor was impeccably clean without a speck of dust. Aunt Meixuzi must have come by to help clean the place up. Cheng Cheng took out some ingredients from the refrigerator and prepared a few dishes. During his travels with Cilan, he had learned how to make several delicious recipes, and he decided to try cooking them himself.

Back home, Cheng Cheng felt his whole body relax, as if all his worries had melted away.

After taking a refreshing shower, Cheng Cheng sat on his bed and checked the day-care center's online shop. Over the past six months, more than twenty Pokémon eggs and over a dozen Pokémon had been sold, which was a rather impressive achievement. Cheng Cheng also looked through the customer reviews for the day-care, most of which were glowing praises, setting his mind at ease.

Cheng Cheng then logged into the official website to check if any major events had recently occurred in the Hoenn region.

He saw that the Hoenn League Conference had also concluded not long ago. Feeling a bit of interest in the League Conference, Cheng Cheng read on. When he saw the winner of the tournament, he was instantly stunned. He could hardly believe his eyes—the victor was none other than Xiao Si, whom Cheng Cheng had previously encountered in Nimbasa City.

Cheng Cheng also checked the full rankings of the tournament and found that Xiaomi, Xiaolin, and Xiaoyu were all on the list, with Xiaoyu even making it into the final four.

It was hard for Cheng Cheng to believe that the four of them, starting out as ordinary civilian trainers, could achieve victory so quickly. After all, even becoming official trainers used to pose some difficulty for them. It seemed they must have encountered quite a few extraordinary adventures along the way.

Cheng Cheng remembered that he had given each of them a Pokémon back then, and he wondered how they had raised them by now. He felt that when he had some time, he should go look for them. Of course, now that the tournament was over, finding them wouldn't be easy. Still, Cheng Cheng believed that someday they would cross paths again.

Closing his computer, Cheng Cheng began his meditation.

Early the next morning, Cheng Cheng ate breakfast, then went downstairs into the day-care shop.

"Boss, you're finally back!"

Seeing Cheng Cheng return, Xiaoli was thrilled. Having not seen her boss for half a year, she had almost started to feel like the day-care center belonged to her.

"Boss, you've been gone for so long! If you hadn't come back soon, I might have thought this shop was mine."

"How could that be? The building is right here, it can't run away, can it? Anyway, how has the Pokémon sales been recently?"

"Very good! As the reputation of the day-care center grows larger and larger, more and more people are coming to buy Pokémon. In the five months you've been away, we've sold a hundred and seven Pokémon eggs and forty-two Pokémon."

"Is that so? And how is the ecological park doing?"

"The number of Pokémon in the ecological park has also grown. However, with so many people purchasing them, the population has stayed at a relatively stable level. At the same time, many Pokémon have laid eggs, so the total number is actually increasing."

"That's wonderful. I'll go check out the back."

"Alright, Boss."

When Cheng Cheng arrived in the back, he found Ali, Tian, and Mu busy washing the Pokémon.

"Boss, you're back!"

"Yeah. Are you giving the Pokémon a bath?"

"Yes. Even though our ecological park has a river, some of the Pokémon just don't like to go wash in it themselves, so we have to personally help them."

Cheng Cheng expanded his psychic powers, directly covering the entire ecological park. He sensed that the total number of Pokémon and Pokémon eggs in the ecological park combined was 184. It seemed the ecological park was thriving. However, after a rough calculation, Cheng Cheng realized his ecological park could hold a maximum of about 200 Pokémon. It seemed the population could not be allowed to grow any further, otherwise, it would disrupt the balance.

"Alright, thank you for your hard work! Everyone gets a raise!"

"Really? Thank you, Boss!"

Hearing that they were getting a raise, everyone was overjoyed. The salary Cheng Cheng provided was already considered quite generous, but they hadn't expected him to increase it further. In truth, he wasn't raising their pay because the day-care's sales were soaring, but simply because his own financial needs were no longer that high. As long as he had enough money to support the growth of his Pokémon, that was quite enough.

"Come on out, everyone!"

Cheng Cheng released all of his Pokémon. However, Sigilyph was still in a dormant state and couldn't come out. When Cheng Cheng had previously asked Nurse Joy to examine it, Nurse Joy had said that Sigilyph appeared to be undergoing a metamorphosis and there was nothing to worry about.

The Pokémon were overjoyed upon coming out, having not played in the ecological park for quite some time. Soon, they mingled happily with the resident Pokémon of the park. As for Slowbro, it trotted straight into the berry orchard to munch on berries, truly incorrigible.

After letting the Pokémon out to play, Cheng Cheng took a stroll around the ecological park. He observed the surroundings, noted a few areas that needed improvement, and recorded them down. Afterward, he handed the list of improvements over to Ali, putting him in charge of the upgrades.

Next, Cheng Cheng inspected the preparation of the Pokémon food and, finding everything in order, left the day-care center.

Instead of going back up to the second floor, Cheng Cheng decided to pay a visit to Aunt Meixuzi's house. Having lived here for a year or two without ever visiting Aunt Meixuzi at her home, he realized he had been rather remiss.

Cheng Cheng picked up some gifts along the street and then made his way to Aunt Meixuzi's house.