Piers quickly received Cole's transfer, which surprised him.
Although he didn't compose for the Brionne Band to make money, this gesture won him over completely.
He didn't say much, just sent a message, "I've already started working on the second song, please look forward to it!"
Cole shared this news with the Brionne group, and they were predictably delighted, eagerly counting the days until the new song would arrive.
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One day after school, Cole returned home to find Norman excitedly landing in his yard on Fletchinder, holding a yellow duck Pokémon in his arms.
Seeing Cole enter, Norman immediately ran over, holding up the Pokémon, "Brother Cole, look at my Pokémon!"
Psyduck?
Cole looked at the wise-eyed Pokémon with surprise, "Just hatched from an egg?"
"Mm-hmm!" Norman nodded repeatedly with excitement.
"Psyyy?"
Psyduck held its head with both hands, tilting it with a confused expression.
Despite Psyduck's seemingly dopey appearance, it wasn't actually stupid. Though it was a pure Water-type Pokémon, it was extremely adept at using psychic powers, and Pokémon skilled in psychic abilities were rarely fools.
The reason it appeared so dopey was that the stronger Psyduck's psychic powers were, the greater the burden on its brain, suppressing its thinking. This condition would continue until it evolved into Golduck.
Cole patted Norman's shoulder, "It's a good Pokémon. Since it's hatched, raise it well."
"Mm." Norman cradled Psyduck in his arms, tenderly stroking its head.
Cole then asked, "Have you decided which path you want to take?"
Norman now faced two choices: one was to continue as a trainer to middle school and follow the academic route; the other was to give up formal education and travel directly with his Pokémon, taking the practical route.
Both paths had their pros and cons, and it was up to the trainer to choose. Whichever path his brother chose, Cole would support him.
After a moment's thought, Norman replied, "I want to go traveling!"
In reality, both Meili and Alfred hoped he would take the academic route, as it was relatively safer. Norman had always been introverted, not decisive or bold enough, and given his young age, the two worried he would be bullied out there.
But Norman himself wanted to see the outside world. Having never left Coumarine, he really wanted to see what the world was like with his own eyes.
He shared his true feelings with Cole, his eyes revealing a hint of nervousness. If he also disagreed with him traveling, he would probably obediently choose school.
But Cole smiled and ruffled his hair, "Go if you want to. As long as you can ensure your safety, it's a good thing. The world outside is vast — only by seeing it with your own eyes will you know how magnificent it truly is!"
Norman nodded happily upon hearing this.
"But since you're just starting out, if you really go outside, you can't wander around randomly. You must follow the League's official routes!"
The official routes laid out by the League were places that countless trainers had traveled and explored, and were generally safe.
Cole didn't have many opportunities to go out, so he could only offer theoretical advice to Norman, who listened attentively nonetheless.
"Newly registered trainers are generally only allowed to carry six Pokémon. If you capture more than six, send them directly to me, and I promise to raise them to be strong and healthy!"
Cole then realized he didn't have a Pokémon transfer device at home. He'd need to install one soon for convenience, otherwise running to the Pokémon Center every time would be too troublesome.
"By the way, Norman, you haven't registered as a League trainer yet, right?"
Without registration, one couldn't participate in various League competitions, just like Cole couldn't.
"Not yet." Norman shook his head.
"Then I'll take you to the Pokémon Center to register later."
At noon, Cole invited him to stay for lunch and chatted about becoming a trainer.
Although he himself wasn't a proper trainer, Diantha was, and so was Keith. When chatting with them, he would often discuss trainer-related topics.
Cole told Norman everything he could remember.
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After lunch, before going to school, he rode Fletchinder to take his brother to the Pokémon Center to complete his trainer registration.
It was Norman's first visit to a Pokémon Center. Holding Psyduck, he followed behind Cole, watching the trainers and Pokémon coming and going with both nervousness and excitement.
Nurse Joy looked surprised to see Cole, "Why are you here at this time?"
Cole pushed Norman to the counter and smiled, "To register this child as a trainer."
Nurse Joy knew he was from an orphanage, so she wasn't surprised to see him bring an unfamiliar child, "Registering as a new trainer?"
Cole nodded, "That's right."
"Then please pay the fee first. The registration fee is 1,000 League coins!"
Cole had researched this beforehand, so he paid promptly.
After receiving the payment, Nurse Joy took out a device and placed it in front of Norman.
"Please put your thumb here." She said, pointing to a slot on the machine.
Norman obediently placed his thumb there, and his complete identity information immediately appeared on the computer screen.
"Norman, right?" Nurse Joy began verifying his identity.
"Yes." Norman nodded.
After the identity verification was complete, Nurse Joy continued, "Do you confirm registering Norman as a new trainer?"
"Yes." Norman answered confidently.
After a series of operations, Nurse Joy smiled at them, "All done, the registration is complete. This identity will be locked after approval, and from then on, no one except the person himself or those with relevant permissions may access it privately. Next is the registration of the trainer's Pokémon. Do you have any Pokémon?"
She walked to another computer, quickly clicked a few times, and six slots the size of Poké Balls appeared on the counter in front of Cole and Norman.
Of course Norman had a Pokémon — it was right in his arms! Nurse Joy had seen it too; she only asked out of habit from repeating the question countless times before.
Under her guidance, he recalled Psyduck into its Poké Ball, then placed the ball in one of the slots. League trainers register their Pokémon information both to prevent cheating in competitions and to facilitate League management.
"Psyduck's registration is complete!"
"Nurse Joy, can I get a Pokédex here?" Cole asked.
"Of course!" Nurse Joy smiled in response, "After all, Coumarine is a major city — our Pokémon Center certainly provides new trainers with Pokédexes."
"Then let's get one for Norman!" Cole said.
Having a Pokédex would make traveling much more convenient for a new trainer.
A Pokédex not only contains information about most known Pokémon, helping new trainers quickly understand unfamiliar species, but also serves as ID, communications device, and can check a trainer's Pokémon status — including health, physical data, and learned moves.
When trainers capture new Pokémon, the Pokédex automatically records them in its files, eliminating the need for special trips to Pokémon Centers.
In short, it's an extremely useful tool.
"Certainly!" Nurse Joy smiled and said, "A Pokédex costs P$100,000. Would you like to proceed?"
"Wow, that's expensive — most families probably couldn't afford one for their children."
Hearing her words, Norman was startled and quickly tugged at Cole's sleeve, wanting to say he didn't need a Pokédex.
"Cole..."
Cole patted his hand, signaling him not to worry, while looking at Nurse Joy and saying, "Yes, we'll take it."
Though it was expensive, children shouldn't have to go without. Necessary expenses shouldn't be skimped on. If they couldn't afford it, that would be one thing, but if they had the means, why not provide it? Having this device would make Norman's journey much easier.
Nurse Joy nodded and quickly typed on her computer, "All set. The Pokédex will be issued after the new trainer's identity verification is approved. We'll call you when it's ready. You can choose to pick it up at the Pokémon Center yourself, or we can deliver it to your home."
Cole said, "Please deliver it to our home."
Then he left the orphanage's address.
After completing the registration, he told Norman he could look around the Pokémon Center and interact with other trainers. He left Fletchinder with him so Norman could ride it home after he finished exploring.
Meanwhile, Cole went to school by himself.
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At school, Cole thought for a moment, took out his phone, logged onto the League's official website, and scheduled an installation date for a Pokémon transfer device.
Just as he put away his phone, Valerie, who sat in front of him, suddenly turned around and said, "Did you know? Professor Oak's regular summer camp is about to start. I bet the teacher will announce it during class today."
"Professor Oak's summer camp?" Cole instinctively looked up, "When is it being held?"
"I don't know." Valerie shook her head, "The teacher will definitely tell us."
Then she curiously examined him.
"Are you interested? This is the first time I've seen you so interested in something besides cultivating berries."
Cole replied sheepishly, "Well, Professor Oak is famous and very knowledgeable. I've always wanted to meet him."
Actually, it was because Professor Oak was famous in the original story. He wanted to go see him and maybe even run into Ash. He wondered how old that kid was now — hopefully he wasn't yet to be born?
Probably not, judging by James and Lance's ages.
"That's true!" Valerie nodded, "Professor Oak is indeed famous, and many people admire him."
Just then, Daniel suddenly joined the conversation, "Are you discussing Professor Oak's summer camp? Let's talk about it together! I'm planning to attend — you should sign up with me!"
Valerie rolled her eyes and turned away disdainfully, "Hmph! Who wants to go with you?"
Daniel was quite annoyed, "You brat, I don't want to go with you either. I want to go with Cole, right, Cole?"
He put his arm around Cole's neck, who quickly removed it, "Sorry, I don't want to go with you either."
Daniel: (+_+)
Just as he was about to protest, the bell rang, and he reluctantly returned to his seat.
Sure enough, just as Valerie had predicted, after class ended, the teacher began discussing Professor Oak's summer camp.
It was a voluntary activity — if you wanted to participate, you had to register with the teacher. Registration was limited to students in the Pokémon Department; even if students from the Regular Department wanted to attend, they wouldn't have the opportunity to sign up.
Professor Oak's summer camp was divided into pre-school and youth groups. The pre-school group accommodated children under ten, while the youth group was for those between ten and sixteen.
The camp required a fee: P$30,000 for the youth group and P$50,000 for the pre-school group. The higher fee for younger children made sense since they needed more supervision than older ones.
After class, Cole immediately registered with the teacher and paid the fee.
Before leaving, he glanced at Daniel and Valerie, "Aren't you two going to register?"
Both turned away simultaneously and said, "No!"
"Daniel, didn't you say you were going?" Cole asked, looking at him.
"You've wounded my fragile heart, and now I don't want to go!" Daniel replied dramatically, clutching his chest.
"Well, if that's the case, I'll go by myself!" Cole shrugged.
Just then, he noticed Keith looking at him, his expression clearly saying "Let's go together".
Cole nodded and waved him over, and the two headed to the teacher's office together.
During registration, the teacher informed them that the camp would begin in a week. In two days, the school would arrange transportation to take registered students to Kanto, so they should prepare in advance.
That's right — this time the camp would be held in Pallet Town in Kanto, which made Cole even more excited!
This wasn't the first time Professor Oak had hosted a summer camp. The location changed each time, making the Pallet Town venue quite rare.
When Cole returned from the teacher's office, he found Valerie and Daniel's seats empty, so he shook his head helplessly.
They really were rivals!
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