Cyrano showed tremendous enthusiasm toward Hikaru and also hoped the three kids could someday attend Blueberry Academy, but the clever Rosa put her mind to work and asked when Blueberry Academy would be completed, and that one question made the trio freeze up.
Cyrano: "It'll probably need another three to five years."
Rosa: "…Um, by then we'll already have graduated from the Trainer School."
Cyrano laughed. "That's fine—you can continue on to higher studies."
To this, the three wore awkward yet polite smiles.
"Director Cyrano, these three are really the hands-on type," Hikaru said. "I can see a Trainer's aptitude—they're all exceptionally gifted boys and girls who'll become Trainers 'unparalleled under heaven' and get entangled in major events…"
"That's right! I've got an important mission, no time to kick back and go to school!" Hugh shook his head and clenched his fists.
His little sister's Purrloin still hadn't been taken back from Team Plasma! Years of training were for the moment of setting out—how could he go off to higher education now!
"Unparalleled under heaven! You rate them that highly?!"
"If someone else said it, I might take it as routine flattery, but since you said it…"
"Perhaps that's a kind of Psychic premonition?"
Cyrano valued the three even more, but it was a shame they were unwilling to wait for Blueberry Academy to be finished and then enroll; a pity indeed.
It's really that the construction isn't fast enough—if it could be built right now, wouldn't he be able to recruit a flood of excellent students in one go?
But that kind of thing is just wishful thinking; this isn't a game where you click and it's built in three turns.
"Ahem, Mr. Cyrano, I have something to ask—why can't we head northwest?"
"If this town keeps going north, past the mountains and boundless forests and the hilly country, the place you'd reach ought to be Icirrus City, right?"
Hikaru inquired about the reason for the 'No Entry'.
Cyrano folded his arms.
"It's normal to wonder. That area doesn't fall under the governance of any Unova city, but it's not an ordinary wild area either."
"It is the fabled Nature Preserve. Without the proper permit, you can't enter—but as it happens, I have one!"
"Eh?! That's the Nature Preserve over there?" Nate was astonished. "I only heard from Mom that there are Pokémon legends in the northwest, and the mountains are perilous, so you can't just wander in…"
"What's a Nature Preserve?" Hugh asked in confusion.
Rosa thought for a moment, drew on her mother's all-purpose tidbits, and a bulb lit over her head.
"Nature Preserve…? I've heard of it—supposedly it protects rare Pokémon and only the chosen can go!"
"Director Cyrano has a permit—then, are you one of the chosen?!"
Hikaru glanced at Rosa in surprise.
So that's this adorable girl's setting… knowing everything.
In Black 2 and White 2, if the protagonist calls Mom with the Xtransceiver at different places, Mom gives different introductions about the locale.
"Rosa, you sound familiar with these spots—are you a tourism ambassador?"
This wasn't just a random quip from Hikaru.
In Pokémon Masters EX, Rosa actually is a "Tourism Ambassador," and even has special outfits—that's the pull of the game's poster girl.
Rosa's cheeks flushed. "Hehe~ When my mom was young she traveled a lot, so I learned from her what these places are like!"
"I heard a friend of Mom's, a senior Trainer, lives far away in Lacunosa Town—when I go on my journey, I definitely want to pay a visit."
"You mean Hilbert's mom? Or Hilda's?"
"Hilbert? Hilda? Who?" Rosa tilted her head, puzzled. "Hilda-san, I don't know her."
Right—she doesn't yet.
Even after starting her journey, Rosa might not necessarily meet those two; she could learn of them from Colress and N, but those two tend to vanish, and given how travel is going now—Hilda left early, Hilbert is still at home gathering himself.
Colress is off isekai-ing, and big-N went straight to file a report with Seven.
Team Plasma split into several factions—this world's already a pot of stew.
Hikaru: "I mean Ms. Himawari's senior Trainer; of the two I mentioned, one is her child about to set out on a journey—you might well meet them in the future."
"Eh? That would be wonderful!" Rosa started to look forward to it.
The last time he went to Lacunosa Town, Hikaru didn't meet Hilbert's mother.
He still remembered that plot bit: when the BW2 protagonist weathers many trials and finally reaches Lacunosa Town, the prior generation's protagonist's mother mistakes the Gen-5 sequel protagonist for her own child.
A single line—"You're back. Did you find your friend?"—paired with Lacunosa Town's lilting, faintly melancholy theme, and you're suddenly awash in feeling.
Then the follow-ups—"You really are just like her, rest a bit here," "I truly wish you could meet my child"—leave the heart a mixture of sweet and bitter.
The last time his own mother worried and longed like that was for the god of Mt. Silver.
The BW protagonist starts their journey from Skyarrow Bridge eastwards; the BW2 protagonist takes the road westwards toward home—the BW hero's starting point is the far right of the map, while the BW2 hero's start is on the far left.
The predecessor's starting town is also the town the sequel's protagonist only reaches at the very end.
"Perhaps this time, you can meet each other in this world."
Rosa didn't fully understand what Hikaru meant, but she didn't mind. "Sensei must be offering a blessing."
Hikaru: "Yes—a blessing across time, one that will surely let you go farther."
"Ahem!" Cyrano coughed. "It seems you already know about the Nature Preserve; that makes it simple to explain."
"The Nature Preserve is a little-known forested area. It lies southwest of Icirrus City, which is to say northwest of here. It doesn't appear on Unova's standard retail maps—so people who don't know any better won't just run in."
"As you said, it's to protect rare Pokémon, and only the chosen may enter."
"As for why I have a permit… guh, that's a secret, but I can share a little."
"The ecological zones planned for Blueberry Academy will recreate some of Unova's iconic terrain—for example Chargestone Cave and… the Nature Preserve."
"So my permit is to let me go 'gather reference material.'"
"If you want, I can take you along for a look."
Cyrano knew the three kids hadn't reached the age for "proper catching and traveling."
So even if he took them inside, they wouldn't go around catching Pokémon at random—no matter how great their future achievements, right now they were still newbies!
"How exciting! Isn't that a legendary place?!"
"I want to go too!"
"I'll tell my parents first—"
Cyrano laughed heartily.
"Hahaha, no worries—I'll speak with the Trainer School's principal and have him vouch for you. I still have some connections and name recognition."
As an old headmaster, he'd take these promising seedlings to see the wider world!
And barring surprises, the parents should know him anyway…
"Well then, let me take you along. If you go in on your own, it would be illegal—"
Cyrano turned to address Hikaru as well, only to find Hikaru wearing a thoughtful look.
Hikaru: "Who issues the permit—the Unova League?"
Cyrano: "Ahem, it's produced jointly by the Unova League and the Ranger Union; only permit holders and Pokémon Rangers can enter."
"Oh, that's easy," Hikaru chuckled, then took out something that looked like a badge.
"Funny coincidence—I'm also a Pokémon Ranger. Well, an Assistant Ranger, anyway."
"You're a Ranger too?" Cyrano had lost count of how many times he'd been shocked. "What a delightful surprise… an Assistant Ranger is still a Ranger!"
"With that status, you truly don't need a permit to enter the Nature Preserve."
"No wonder your understanding of nature is so profound—now I see why!"
(End of Chapter)
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