<h4>Chapter 1224: Treatment</h4>


    The opening ceremony of the Duel Tournament took ce in the morning, with the preliminary rounds scheduled for the afternoon.


    After a full afternoon of intense matches, the preliminaries concluded, with Ash, Erika, Ryo, and Anya all advancing to the next stage.


    At the end of the day''spetition, both participants and spectators began leaving the stadium one after another. Having been engaged in matches all day, the contestants and referees alike were utterly exhausted.


    To celebrate Ash, Erika, and Ryo''s sessful advancement, Yuga invited them over to his house for a grand feast meticulously prepared by Audino. He also wished them victory in their uing matches.


    After dinner, the contestants gathered to exchange experiences and strategies.


    Since the preliminary round had so many participants, none of them had encountered particrly difficult opponents so far. However, the uing advancement matches would be a different story. The opponents'' strength would increase significantly, and making it to the finals would be far more challenging than the rtively easy preliminaries.


    This Grass-type Pokémon Duel Tournament held in Verdanturf Town was not only an excellent tform for honing skills but also offered exceptionally generous rewards. As a result, every participant was gearing up with determination.


    They stayed at Verdanturf Gym for quite a while, and before they knew it, night had fallen. One by one, they bid their farewells and left.


    After everyone had departed, Yuga went to the Ecopark.


    Today marked the final dose of the gic serum for the Beldum. After this treatment, and with some rest, their gic disorders would be fully cured.


    There were also the baby Squirtle and Froakie to consider.


    After handing all of Torterra''s fruits to Joyka, she had lived up to expectations and crafted medicine to treat the two little ones'' frail conditions. Starting today, the treatment for both Pokémon would officiallymence.


    Arriving at the Mine Sub-Ecopark of the Ecopark, Yuga found the Beldum training with a few Drilbur, while their guardians—two Metagross, a Rhydon, and a Nidoqueen—watched from nearby.


    Seeing how absorbed they were in training, Yuga didn''t interrupt but instead stood by and observed.


    While Beldum are the first evolutionary stage of pseudo-legendary Pokémon, they aren''t particrly strong in this form. This isrgely because the moves they can learn at this stage are extremely limited, and their primary weapon is using their bodies to ram into opponents.


    In contrast, the Drilbur, which had been rigorously training since entering the Ecopark, were much stronger. Using their Dig move, they could nimbly evade Beldum''s attacks and evenunch surprise counterattacks. As a result, the Beldum often ended up at a disadvantage during their sparring matches.


    At this moment, the Beldum were sparring with the indigo potential Drilbur, which was taking on two opponents at once.


    Thanks to Rhydon''s rigorous supervision and guidance over this period, the indigo potential Drilbur had made rapid progress, leaving its peers far behind in strength. This greatly satisfied Rhydon.


    As long as Drilbur continued to improve, Rhydon and its mate felt assured they would have a reliable ally in the future.


    The Drilbur had just emerged from the ground when the two Beldum, irritated from being toyed with, charged at it with all their strength using the Tackle move. Seeing them rush forward, Drilbur quickly ducked its head back into its burrow and disappeared.


    <strong>Bang! Bang!</strong>


    The Beldum''s attacks missed, creating arge pit in the ground. Meanwhile, Drilbur reappeared behind them and struck each with a Drill Run, knocking both Beldum to the ground.


    Just as Yuga was about to walk over, he noticed a bright light of evolution radiating from Drilbur''s body. When the light subsided, a magnificent Excadrill stood proudly in its ce.


    Seeing this, Yuga was delighted and immediately stepped forward to praise them. "Great job! It seems you''ve all been working hard in your training recently."


    When Yuga approached, the Metagross and Beldum became ecstatic, they''re floating over one after another until they hadpletely surrounded him.


    Because Yuga had avenged them and given them such a happy life now, both Metagross and the Beldum were exceptionally affectionate toward him.


    If their evolution condition were based on friendship, they might have already evolved into Metang by now.


    "Haha... Haha... Stop crowding me! I still need to administer your medicationter. After this round, you''ll be fully cured," Yuga said with a helplessugh, trying to shift their focus to the matter at hand.


    Sure enough, upon hearing Yuga''s words, the Beldum immediately calmed down and became very obedient, though the excitement in their eyes was unmistakable.


    Born with a gic disorder that had caused them immense suffering, the fact that it was finally going to be cured filled them with joy beyond measure.


    "Before we begin, let''s treat these two little ones first." Yuga gestured at the two unconscious Beldum still lying on the ground, unattended.


    Realizing they hadpletely forgotten about their faintedpanions, the other Beldum hung their heads in embarrassment.


    Yuga released Chimecho, and with a wave of Heal Pulse, the two Beldum woke up in no time.


    Seeing them awake, Yuga turned to Rhydon, who was standing nearby, and said, "You''ve worked hard training the Drilbur recently. You''ve done a great job. As a reward, if you''d like to evolve, I can help you."


    Evolve?


    Rhydon''s eyes immediately lit up:<i> I can evolve?</i>


    For Rhydon to evolve into Rhyperior, it needs to hold a Protector and be traded—an artificial method created by humans. Since this item doesn''t naturally ur in the wild, it''s rare to find Rhyperior outside of human ownership.


    Hearing it could still evolve, Rhydon, eager to grow stronger, was visibly thrilled. It wasted no time in expressing its desire to evolve.


    "Great," Yuga said with a satisfied smile. "Keep supervising Excadrill and the Drilbur during their training. You''ll be rewarded plenty in the future."


    Rhydon nodded earnestly.


    "You''re doing well too," Yuga added, turning to Excadrill. "Keep it up. If you''re craving anything special to eat, go find Audino. Consider it my reward for your recent efforts."


    Excadrill, delighted by Yuga''s words, clicked its ws eagerly and nodded in gratitude.


    After encouraging both Rhydon and Excadrill, Yuga began preparing to treat the Beldum.


    At that moment, several Blissey entered the room, carrying fourrge tubs of water, which they ced neatly in a row.


    Yuga took out four bottles of medicine, unscrewed the caps, and poured the contents into the water-filled tubs. The sixteen Beldum divided themselves into four groups and dove into the tubs.


    Having used the gene therapy solution before, the Beldum were familiar with the process. They instinctively swirled around in the medicated water to ensure their bodies fully absorbed the treatment, which entered their systems through their joints to heal their gic disorders.


    After soaking for about two hours, the Beldum emerged one by one, chattering excitedly among themselves. They shared their joy at finally being healthy and dreamed aloud about a bright future.


    In truth, their gic disorders hadn''t rpsed for a while, thanks to the gradual effects of the gene therapy. Today was merely the final step of the treatment.


    The two Metagross exchanged nces, their gazes softening as they looked at the now lively and healthy Beldum. They turned to Yuga and thanked him again.


    Noticing their mixed emotions, Yuga offered a fewforting words before leaving with the Blissey.


    After exiting the Mine Sub-Ecopark, Yuga headed straight for the Shallow Sea Beach Sub-Ecopark.


    Ever since a group of Slowpoke moved onto Lake Ind No. 1, the surface of theke had turned pink from the presence of water hyacinth leaves. The Slowpoke loved lounging on the floating leaves to nap. When they woke up and felt hungry, they''d nibble on the leaves, seemingly enjoying their vor.


    Water hyacinths are a type of medicinal nt cultivated not only on Lake Ind No. 1 but also on the other twoke inds. The YoYo Day Care regrly requiresrge quantities of them.


    Their leaves are rich in Water-type energy and offer great benefits to Water-type Pokémon when consumed over time.


    Fortunately, despite their slow and seemingly dull nature, the Slowpoke were obedient and easy to manage. The Slowking and Slowbro kept everything in order without much trouble.


    When Yuga arrived at thekeside, he saw the little Squirtle and Froakie darting around in the water, yfully teasing the Slowpoke napping on the water hyacinths.


    The Slowpoke mostly ignored their antics, at most lifting an eyelid to nce at them before going back to doing nothing.


    Even though the Slowpoke didn''t pay much attention to Squirtle and Froakie, the two little ones yed to their hearts'' content. Despite being born frail, their lively and charming personalities made them quite endearing.


    Seeing how much fun they were having, Yuga called out to them from a distance. When the two noticed Yuga had arrived, they immediately abandoned the Slowpoke and swam over to him.


    Since Yuga often took them to the Pokémon Center for treatment, the two little ones were very attached to him.


    Greninja was still as diligent as ever, heading out early in the morning to spar with other Pokémon. Even thiste, when Yuga asked stoise—who had been meditating nearby—Greninja hadn''t returned yet.


    "How was your day, you two?" Yuga asked with a warm smile as the little ones mbered onto the bank.


    He had been busy all day preparing for the Duel Tournament and had barely found the time to pick up some medicine from the Pokémon Center, let alone check on the two little ones.


    "Froooakie~"


    "Squirtle! Squirtle!"


    The two eagerly began recounting all their adventures from the day, vying for Yuga''s attention.


    Still too young and frail to start training, the little ones spent their days freely exploring and ying. Yuga nned to begin their formal training once their health improved. With Greninja as their father, they were naturally at an advantagepared to others like Drilbur, who had spent time as an orphan.


    After spending some time ying with the two, Yuga took out the medicine he had prepared for them. The treatment provided by Nurse Joy involved two steps: oral and topical application.


    First, Yuga pulled out a palm-sized bottle filled with small, round brown pills. Pouring out two pills, he handed them to Squirtle and Froakie. "Here, eat these."


    The little ones took the pills, ncing at Yuga with puzzled expressions. They didn''t know what these were but trusted him enough to pop them into their mouths. After a bit of chewing, they swallowed the pills.


    Their eyes lit up after eating, mistaking the medicine for candy, and they reached out, wanting more.


    Yuga chuckled and put the bottle away. "This is medicine, not candy. Only one pill at a time."


    In truth, the pills tasted awful, but Nurse Joy had coated them in sweet honey to make them ptable. If the little ones took their time chewing, they might''ve been repulsed by the true vor.


    Realizing the "candy" was out of reach, the two gave up, sitting obediently with their big, round eyes fixed on Yuga.


    Next, Yuga brought out a moderately-sized tub, filled it with water, and poured in a vial of dark green liquid.


    "Alright, hop in and soak for a bit."


    The little ones peered over the tub''s edge, pointing at the green liquid with suspicion. "What''s this? It looks weird."


    Yuga exined patiently, "This is medicine to help your bodies recover. The pills you just ate were part of the treatment. Once you''re better, you''ll be able to do anything just like the others."


    Hearing this, the two gasped, covering their mouths in shock. They had just realized the "candy" was medicine. Their round eyes widened even more, their expressions hriously exaggerated, which made Yuga burst intoughter.


    "Come on, stop dawdling," Yuga said, picking them up by the scruffs and cing them into the tub.


    Though the greenish liquid looked unappealing, it emitted a faint, pleasant aroma. Once in, the two rxed and began swimming leisurely, clearly enjoying the soak.


    stoise, having been briefed about the medicine earlier, immediately crawled up from the shore to join Yuga by the tub, watching the little ones in the medicated bath.


    Not long after, Greninja returned. Seeing both Yuga and stoise crouched by the tub, it curiously approached, only to be filled in by stoise. Soon, Greninja joined the "watch party" as well.


    After soaking for over an hour, Yuga decided it was time. The water in the tub had be clear again, indicating the treatment wasplete. He carefully lifted Squirtle and Froakie out of the tub.


    Though this medicine, much like the gic therapy, worked gradually, Yuga could already notice a change. The two seemed more energetic, and their previously sicklyplexions looked much healthier.


    Seeing the improvement, stoise and Greninja were thrilled.


    After spending several hours in the Ecopark, Yuga finally finished his work. When he stepped out, it was almost midnight. Knowing he had another busy day ahead preparing for the Duel Tournament, he quickly washed up and went to bed.