Yuga brought the Latios and Latias couple to the outside of the hospital ward. Inside, the little Mudkip was sleeping soundly.
Seeing their child, the couple became extremely emotional and immediately tried to rush inside. Yuga quickly stopped them when he saw this.
"What are you doing? That child is injured and has been injected with medicine. It must rest quietly now."
The couple glared angrily at Yuga, their eyes full of burning rage, as if they were about to set Yuga on fire.
Yuga hurriedly explained, "It's not too late to go in and see it once the child wakes up. Let it have a good rest for now, okay?"
Under Yuga's earnest persuasion, the couple finally began to calm down and slowly turned around to gaze longingly at the Mudkip inside the ward.
After quite a while, Yuga tentatively asked, "Now that we've found your child, can the blockade over Verdanturf City be lifted?"
Upon hearing this, the couple turned to look at Yuga, stared at him for a few seconds, and then Latios finally let out a call to Yuga.
After understanding what Latios meant, Yuga gave his assurance: "Mudkip's life is not in danger, I can guarantee that. It will wake up soon, and we will take full responsibility for its injuries."
Latios glanced at Latias after hearing this, and once he saw her nod, he gently responded to Yuga with a call.
Yuga breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. This disaster was finally over.
The couple walked out of the Pokémon Center with Yuga. In the distance, Yuga saw Joyka hiding to the side. He made an "OK" hand gesture to her, and Joyka instantly looked relieved, then gave Yuga a big smile in return.
Once outside, the couple flew up into the sky at the same time. Their eyes emitted a strong purple glow, and before long, the thick fog enveloping the entire Verdanturf City began to dissipate, and the barrier that had sealed the city disappeared as well.
Outside of Verdanturf City, Steven watched the fog visibly dispersing at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye and exclaimed excitedly, "Look, the fog is starting to clear. Does that mean the problem has been solved?"
Just as he finished speaking, his communicator rang—it was a call from Yuga.
After hanging up, Steven said to Professor Birch and Robert with a relaxed expression, "It's finally resolved."
Professor Birch said excitedly, "Then let's hurry into Verdanturf City and have a look!" If they didn't hurry, Latias and Latios would be leaving soon.
So, Steven, Robert, and Professor Birch led a few subordinates and entered Verdanturf City together.
After dispersing the fog, the Latias and Latios couple returned to the outside of the hospital ward and looked longingly at the sleeping Mudkip inside.
Yuga instructed the police officers to guard the ward and not allow anyone to approach. Then, together with Masato Shirai, he went to meet the family that had returned the Mudkip.
The couple appeared very uneasy when they saw Yuga, and the little girl was also very scared, hastily hiding behind her parents.
Yuga spoke gently to the couple, "Thanks to you for bringing the Mudkip back this time."
The girl's father quickly waved his hands and said, "It was nothing, it was nothing…" and then looked like he had something more to say but hesitated.
Seeing this, Yuga said, "If you have any questions, feel free to speak up."
The girl's father stammered, "Well… uh… that Mudkip was actually hidden by my daughter…"
Yuga immediately understood what the father was trying to say and smiled as he explained, "Don't worry, we won't blame her for that. The rewards we promised you will still be given."
The girl's parents finally relaxed upon hearing this. Their daughter's actions had caused such a big problem for Verdanturf City, and the couple had really been worried that the League would hold them accountable.
After the atmosphere lightened a bit, the little girl cautiously asked, "Is Mudkip okay?"
Yuga nodded and said, "Don't worry, it's fine now. It's already back with its parents."
Upon hearing this, the little girl's face immediately bloomed into a radiant smile.
After chatting with the couple for a while, Joyka suddenly came over to Yuga and said, "The people sent by the League have arrived."
So Yuga quickly said goodbye to the family of three and instructed the police to escort them home.
Yuga saw Robert looking very happy and was just about to go up to greet him when Professor Birch suddenly rushed out, his face full of anxiety, and asked, "Where are Latias and Latios? Don't tell me they've already left?"
Yuga shook his head helplessly and said, "Not yet."
"Then hurry and take me to see them," Professor Birch said, grabbing Yuga.
Yuga explained, "After what happened with Mudkip, that couple doesn't have a very good impression of humans. If you go like this, it might cause them to go on a rampage."
Upon hearing that, Professor Birch immediately started cursing those Pokémon hunters.
Then Yuga began to discuss with Steven how the League would handle the Verdanturf City incident.
Steven said, "Latios and Latias caused such a big commotion in Verdanturf City. The League won't let them leave easily."
What Latias and Latios had caused could practically be classified as a Pokémon disaster. The League had always taken a serious attitude toward Pokémon that caused disasters.
Although this incident was triggered by humans, the main culprits had already been dealt with by the couple. Still, they had involved the innocent Verdanturf City, which was really unjustifiable.
Yuga furrowed his brow and thought for a while, then said, "Let's try to minimize the impact."
Steven understood the meaning behind Yuga's words and nodded, saying, "I'll try my best to negotiate with headquarters."
After the fog dissipated, Verdanturf City began to gradually return to order. Probably because people had been stuck at home for the past few days and were feeling stifled, there were more pedestrians on the streets than usual, making Verdanturf City seem livelier and more prosperous.
But this was just a facade.
Because of the incident, many tourists who had been in Verdanturf City left as soon as the blockade was lifted.
Even though the incident hadn't caused any casualties, it had still left psychological shadows on many people and brought significant negative effects to Verdanturf City.
It was foreseeable that Verdanturf City's tourism industry would take a heavy hit.
Because of this, Mayor Ishida was so worried he was getting sick.
Tourism was one of the pillars of Verdanturf City's economic development. If something really went wrong, it would definitely have a huge impact on the city's development.
Time flew by, and two days passed. In order to minimize the adverse effects brought by the fog, Yuga and Mayor Ishida had been extremely busy over the past two days.
Mudkip had already woken up. As soon as it woke up, Latios and Latias wanted to leave, but Yuga used an excuse to delay them, saying that Mudkip had been seriously injured and it was best to let it rest a few more days in the Pokémon Center.
The peaceful awakening of Mudkip lowered the couple's vigilance quite a bit, so they reluctantly believed Yuga.
Finally, two days later, Steven finished negotiating with the League, and a decision was made on how to handle Latios and Latias, who had brought significant damage to Verdanturf City.
When Yuga appeared again with Steven in front of the couple, they didn't show them any pleasant expressions.
Yuga spoke seriously to the couple: "Latios, Latias, let's have a talk."
Latios called out, asking what Yuga wanted to talk about.
Yuga replied, "You two caused a lot of trouble for Verdanturf City this time. The League is not going to let you leave so easily."
Upon hearing this, the couple's expressions immediately changed. They assumed a defensive posture, as if they were ready to strike back the moment Yuga or Steven made a wrong move.
Yuga quickly tried to calm them down and said, "Don't get agitated yet, let me finish what I have to say."
Hearing Yuga's words, the couple did not let down their guard, but instead signaled with their eyes for Yuga to continue speaking.
Yuga continued, "Although the matter regarding Mudkip was the fault of the human side, the real culprit has already been dealt with by you two. Mudkip's appearance in Verdanturf City was just an accident, so everything Verdanturf City went through was an undeserved disaster. You must offer compensation for it."
Latios and Latias exchanged a glance, then looked back at Yuga and Steven, as if to ask: what kind of compensation?
The couple had reflected on the trouble they caused to Verdanturf City and realized that they had taken out their anger unfairly.
So Yuga told the couple the compensation plan proposed by the League. The couple looked at each other again, their expressions full of hesitation.
Seeing this, Yuga said, "If you don't offer appropriate compensation, you won't be able to leave Verdanturf City. You should know that if I wanted to keep you here, I absolutely could."
The League didn't want to make things too difficult for Latios and Latias—these two legendary Pokémon—otherwise, given the commotion they caused, compensation alone would not have been enough to resolve it. If it had been ordinary Pokémon, the League would have already arrested them.
Thinking back to the two of their kin that appeared previously, the couple did not doubt Yuga's words, which were somewhat like a threat. So after much consideration, they gritted their teeth and agreed to the compensation plan proposed by the humans.
In the blink of an eye, another week passed. Everyone's lives slowly returned to normal. The negative effects that the thick fog had brought to Verdanturf City seemed to have vanished. Even the friendly competition between Verdanturf University and Hau'oli University had successfully concluded three days ago.
Yuga had been extremely busy this past week, but still managed to make time to attend the exchange competition. However, he never stayed until the end each time, and everyone understood this very well—after all, the fog incident had only just been resolved.
As expected, Ash won the final championship without any surprises. Aya, Anlin, and Anmu also performed very well, winning fourth, seventh, and eighth place, respectively.
After the exchange competition ended, the teachers and students of Hau'oli University did not rush to leave Verdanturf City. Having caught wind of some rumors, they decided to wait until things were settled before heading back to Alola.
On this day, two long and distant dragon roars suddenly rang out in the sky above Verdanturf City. Everyone instinctively looked up to the heavens, where they saw two legendary Pokémon silently floating above the city.
It was the couple—Latios and Latias.
This scene immediately caused a stir among the citizens. Everyone thought the thick fog incident was about to happen again.
But soon, Mayor Ishida's voice echoed through the streets and alleys of Verdanturf City. While he reassured the citizens, he also explained the reason why these two legendary Pokémon had appeared.
It turned out that these two Legendary Pokémon were going to bestow a blessing upon Verdanturf City. From then on, Verdanturf City would enjoy favorable weather and a more pleasant climate under their blessing.
To be honest, Yuga hadn't known before that Latios and Latias had this kind of ability. But since the League had brought it up, it was clearly true.
He also confirmed it with his own Latias and Latios. The brother and sister gave a definite answer.
However, Yuga also learned that although they were capable of doing it, it was not an easy thing for them to do.
This time, the blessing event was broadcast live from Verdanturf City to the entire world. With the support of the League, television stations all over the world reported on the event, causing Verdanturf City's reputation to skyrocket to unprecedented heights.
The couple kept circling in the air, their bodies gradually emitting beautiful blue and red lights, making the sky above Verdanturf City incredibly gorgeous, like a dreamlike, multicolored moon.
"Woooo~"
"Woooo~"
The dragon roars of the two Pokémon became increasingly high-pitched. Everyone in Verdanturf City could feel a strange power spreading throughout the city. Gradually, everyone noticed that the temperature in Verdanturf City was changing—it felt as if spring had returned.
From today onwards, Verdanturf City would become a place of eternal spring.
Of course, such a sudden change in climate would bring some negative effects to Verdanturf City, but those would only be temporary. From a long-term development perspective, this change in climate would bring more and more benefits to Verdanturf City as a tourist destination.
With Latios and Latias—these two legendary Pokémon—as a promotional highlight, the negative impact previously caused by the thick fog incident would also be completely eliminated.
From now on, Verdanturf City would be known as "the city blessed by Latios and Latias."
After the blessing ceremony ended, the couple calmly flew back amidst the attention of all the people, but that was just for show. The moment they returned, they nearly lost control of their flight and almost fell to the ground.
A blessing of this magnitude had consumed a large portion of their life essence, which was also why, when Yuga had previously suggested they make compensation in this form, the couple had looked so reluctant.
However, this was a punishment for their impulsiveness.
Yuga immediately had people go up to support the two Pokémon and take them to the Pokémon Center to rest.
After a period of recovery, Mudkip had fully healed. Seeing its parents return, it immediately ran over happily to snuggle with them.
Latios and Latias, though weakened, still played with Mudkip tenderly, their deep parental affection moving to behold.
After the blessing event ended, Latios and Latias were to leave with Mudkip. However, the League decided to assign Yuga, Steven, and Robert to escort the family of three back home.
The League had multiple considerations in making this decision.
First, the appearance of Latios and Latias in Verdanturf City had undoubtedly drawn attention. Now that the two were extremely weak, it was likely that someone would target them.
Second, the couple had just caused a Pokémon disaster. The League simply could not feel at ease about them. To prevent them from causing further trouble, it was better to keep an eye on them.
Lastly, the couple were not legendary Pokémon registered with the League. The League wanted to use this opportunity to investigate their habitat, to facilitate future communication and interaction.
The one most reluctant to see the couple leave was Professor Birch. Over the past few days, he had touched and examined every part of Latias and Latios, fully satisfying his passion for research.
However, thinking of the fact that Yuga also seemed to have a pair of Latias and Latios, he didn't feel quite as bad.