Due to the incident with Muya, Yuga returned to the shop with a furrowed brow.
As he entered, he heard Suzuki Koen saying, "Boss, you're back!"
"What's going on?" Yuga asked, puzzled. Most of the shop's affairs were handled independently by Suzuki Koen, so why was there something that required his presence?
Suzuki Koen gestured towards the inside of the shop, and Yuga followed his gaze to see someone sitting there.
It was that Trainer called Kazuma!
Yuga took a moment to remember his name - Kazuma, the first Trainer to arrange installment payments for a Pokémon from the YoYo Day Care.
Why was he here? The repayment period hadn't ended yet, right? Besides, he didn't need to come in person; as long as he paid from his end, Yuga would receive the payment.
With these thoughts in mind, Yuga walked over to Kazuma.
Upon seeing Yuga approaching, Kazuma immediately stood up from his chair and greeted, "Manager Shimizu, you're back."
Yuga nodded and smiled, "Sorry for keeping you waiting."
Kazuma shook his head and said, "No problem; I haven't been here for long."
Yuga gestured towards a chair, indicating for Kazuma to sit down for a chat. Yuga sat across from him and asked, "What brings you here today?"
Kazuma hesitated and said, "I came to inquire about the possibility of paying off my installment plan early."
Yuga hadn't expected this reason for his visit and asked in surprise, "You want to pay it off early?"
Kazuma replied, "Yes, ever since I obtained Trapinch, I've been traveling and had a few opportunities to earn some money. I thought it would be better to clear my debts, as I felt like something was weighing on my conscience."
Indeed, Trainers were one of the groups most likely to strike it rich quickly. Perhaps they could get lucky and become overnight millionaires due to a chance encounter.
Yuga chuckled, "I see. There's no problem with paying it off early."
In fact, he was more than welcoming of early repayments. They didn't charge interest, and having the money back earlier was advantageous.
Upon hearing Yuga's words, Kazuma was overjoyed. "Really?"
Yuga nodded. "Of course!"
After finalizing the details, Yuga had Suzuki Koen assist Kazuma in processing the early repayment paperwork.
Suzuki Koen saw Kazuma out of the YoYo Day Care, and when he returned, Yuga noticed that Arata Sena was rushing in a fluster. Upon seeing Yuga, he ran exaggeratedly towards him.
"Boss! Boss! Something bad has happened!" she exclaimed.
"What's wrong with you?" Yuga asked, slightly annoyed. "Are you going to stop our business by shouting ?"
Only then did Arata Sena realize that all the customers were looking at him. He quickly covered her mouth and leaned close to Yuga, whispering, "Boss, something really big has happened."
"What's going on?" Yuga asked with curiosity. "Did the sky fall?"
Arata Sena sighed in frustration, "I'm not kidding, boss. We have another Pokémon Day Care opening in Verdanturf Town!"
"Another Pokémon Day Care opening?" Yuga couldn't believe it. He didn't recall any other place in Verdanturf Town having the potentials to easily open a Pokémon Day Care.
Curious, Yuga inquired, "Who's behind this one?"
Arata Sena answered, "It's not someone from our town; it's a branch opened by another Pokémon Day Care. The name is something like 'Truly Adorable!'"
Upon hearing the name "Truly Adorable," Yuga immediately knew which Pokémon Day Care it was.
It had to be the Pokémon Day Care run by Edward!
However, their Pokémon Day Care seems to have been originally located in Slateport City. Why would they suddenly open a branch in Verdanturf Town? Verdanturf Town isn't a big city; it doesn't seem like a suitable place for opening a branch!
In reality, Pokémon Day Cares aren't the kind of businesses that heavily rely on location. Many Pokémon transactions can occur online, and Trade Machines can facilitate these trades. Very few Trainers physically visit the shops to pick their Pokémon unless the Trainer lives nearby.
Especially for renowned Pokémon Day Cares that require extensive Ecoparks, they often choose remote locations. However, such practices are typically followed by large Pokémon Day Cares. Smaller ones, like Truly Adorable, which stands between medium and large in terms of scale and doesn't compare to the larger establishments, wouldn't usually do this.
"Where did they set up their shop?" Yuga continued to ask.
Arata Sena replied, "It's on the far east side of town. They've already begun constructing their Ecopark."
The east side, huh? That was directly opposite to his own Pokémon Day Care's location!
"Will it take them a while to complete the construction of their Pokémon Day Care?" Yuga inquired.
"Yeah, they just started today, and judging by their scale, it should take quite some time," Arata Sena replied.
"Don't worry about them. Let them do their own thing!" To be honest, Yuga wasn't particularly concerned.
It's not that he looked down on Truly Adorable; in terms of scale and reputation, they surpassed the YoYo Day Care. However, their owner was Edward.
From their previous interactions, Yuga had noticed that this person was a bit narrow-minded and had a limited perspective. Expecting someone like him to achieve significant success seemed unlikely.
Nonetheless, Yuga wasn't planning to let his guard down.
There had been some conflicts between him and Edward, and now he had opened a branch in Verdanturf Town. It all looked suspicious.
Yuga told Arata Sena, "You go about your tasks; you don't need to worry about this. Focus on running the shop and your Pokémon training. That's what you should be most concerned about right now."
"But—" Arata Sena began to protest, only to be stopped by Yuga, who raised his hand. He sighed in resignation and left the old shop, returning to the new one.
Yuga contemplated the situation with Truly Adorable Pokémon Day Care as he walked toward the Ecopark.
Wigglytuff had brought back the fertilizer, and Yuga needed to process it further before using it on the Jaboca berry tree saplings.
When Yuga arrived at the main Ecopark, he found Wigglytuff using scissors to trim the excess branches from some of the berry trees, following the methods Yuga had taught it. Wigglytuff stopped its work upon seeing Yuga approach.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Yuga said to Wigglytuff.
"Wigglytuff! Wigglytuff!" Wigglytuff shook its head when it saw Yuga, indicating that it wasn't tired at all. It was more than willing to help Yuga.
Together, Yuga and Wigglytuff finished pruning the remaining berry trees. They also prepared the fertilizer and applied it to the saplings of the Jaboca berry tree.
After completing these tasks, Yuga and Wigglytuff left the Ecopark.
Just then, Yuga's phone rang, and he saw that it was a call from his friend Gardenia. He immediately had a hunch about the reason for the call.