Cole and Keith hurriedly gathered around upon hearing the news. After reading the content, both were shocked.
The news reported two significant developments.
First, the Fire Elite Four member of the Kanto League would soon resign due to health reasons, leaving the position vacant.
Cole knew that Blaine's resignation couldn't be due to health issues; he must have become involved with Team Rocket.
Second, the inheritance dispute over Silph Company that had concerned the public finally reached a resolution.
Ryan Hills, the company's controller, announced in the presence of League Champion Blue that he would distribute only ten percent of the shares equally among his nephews and nieces, while donating the remaining shares to the League for free. Additionally, no one from the Hills family would participate in Silph Company's operations in the future.
This meant Silph Company would transform completely into a League-controlled enterprise.
When this news broke, the Hills family was filled with lamentations, but ordinary citizens considered it good news.
When Cole and his friends returned to the classroom, they found everyone discussing these two news items until the teacher entered.
"Students, today is the last day of our summer camp. We don't have any classes scheduled today."
Upon hearing this, the students erupted in thunderous cheers.
"However..." The teacher's next words brought their cheering to an abrupt halt, "You will be taking an exam next. This is your last chance to earn points, and some of you might be able to turn the tables. In this exam, you'll earn points based on the number of questions you answer correctly — the more correct answers, the more points you earn."
"Great!"
After hearing the teacher's explanation, the students immediately perked up.
"Quiet down! Now everyone line up outside and enter the testing room in an orderly fashion." The teacher tapped the desk, signaling everyone to be quiet.
Professor Oak's laboratory had dedicated testing rooms with online exams. Results would be available immediately after completion. All of Cole's teachers had previously conducted exams in these rooms.
The rules were simple: one point for every ten correct answers, three hours of testing time, no limit on the number of questions. Your score depended entirely on how hard you had studied.
This was the second large-scale point-earning activity that Professor Oak had mentioned earlier.
After entering the testing room, Cole sat down at a computer. When the teacher announced they could begin, he quickly started browsing through the questions.
The first question asked which of four claws belonged to Charizard's front paw. Four images of Pokémon claws were attached below the question.
What happened to the claws? Why were the images showing nails? Cole was shocked.
The first image displayed white nails with a slightly rounded shape; the second also showed white nails, but these were pointed and sharp; the third featured light gray nails that were wide and heavy; the fourth showed light purple nails, similar in shape to the third image.
Cole chose the second image without hesitation.
He guessed the first belonged to Blastoise, the third to Kangaskhan, and the last clearly to Nidoking. Having a Nidoking in his orchard whose nails he often trimmed, he couldn't possibly mistake it.
The second question asked Cole to identify the Micle Berry from four shadow images.
The shadow images were taken from normal angles, not tricky ones. The challenge was that neither the Micle Berry nor the other three fruits were common berries. Average students might not even remember what these berries looked like, let alone identify them from shadows.
But this question was perfect for Cole — berries were his specialty.
The first image was a Custap Berry, the second a Chilan Berry, the third a Colbur Berry, and the fourth — the correct answer — was the Micle Berry.
Not all questions were tricky; some were relatively simple.
For example: Which of the following Pokémon has the Dragon type?
A) Gyarados
B) Altaria
C) Charizard
D) Aerodactyl
The main challenge here was that many students were unfamiliar with Aerodactyl, an ancient Pokémon rarely mentioned in class.
Another example: Which of the following is not a Grass-type Pokémon?
A) Parasect
B) Comfey
C) Budew
D) Hoppip
This tested very basic knowledge.
Time passed quickly. Cole focused on answering questions until the teacher announced time was up. He promptly submitted his paper and looked away from the computer.
Outside the testing room, many students immediately hugged their friends, crying and complaining about the exam's difficulty.
After walking a few steps, Cole saw Daniel standing dazed in front of a pillar.
"What's wrong? Did you do poorly?" Cole asked as he approached.
Before Daniel could answer, Valerie walked over and said, "That goes without saying. He fails even the simplest exams we normally take. With questions this difficult, he probably couldn't answer a single one correctly."
As soon as she finished speaking, Daniel threw himself at Cole and cried, "Waaah... it's not my fault, I did nothing wrong, it's the questions' fault! Why did they make them so difficult? Waaah..."
He was crying his heart out, clearly indicating he had done terribly.
Shortly after, Keith also arrived. Judging by his expression, he had done quite well.
About half an hour later, the results were posted on the bulletin board in the classroom corridor. First place went to a male student from Sinnoh Crown Academy's affiliated middle school. The boy possessed a formidable knowledge base.
In three hours, he answered 208 questions with 100% accuracy, earning 20 points.
However, these twenty points couldn't significantly improve his overall ranking because his original position was too low — he could only reach the middle-lower ranks.
Second place went to Daisy, who answered 220 questions in three hours but only got 180 correct, earning 18 points.
Cole, who usually ranked first at his own school, only secured third place this time, answering 190 questions with 178 correct for 17 points. In this type of tricky exam, he didn't have a significant advantage.
After seeing the results, reactions were mixed — some students celebrated while others despaired.
As expected, Daniel performed poorly, answering 150 questions but getting only 25 correct, earning just 2 points. He had essentially been guessing randomly.
Valerie and Keith both performed well, earning 10 and 12 points respectively.
When people began calculating the total points from all activities, Cole took first place with an overwhelming advantage — a total of 188 points over the month.
Second place went to Chiyo with 119 points, quite a gap behind first place.
This was mainly because Cole excelled in almost every activity and exam, while Chiyo performed rather ordinarily in many activities.
To be precise, most students followed a pattern: earning substantial points in their strengths but almost none in their weaknesses. Cole was the only exception to this rule — a true outlier among his peers.
Third place went to Junichi, who scored 113 points, not far behind Chiyo's total.
After someone calculated and announced Cole's impressive score, he instantly became the center of attention, drawing admiration wherever he went.
On the way back to the classroom, Daniel nudged him with his elbow and asked with a curious grin, "How does it feel to be the center of attention?"
Cole smiled and shrugged, "Not bad, but they might be looking at you too — after all, not many people answer only 25 out of 150 questions correctly."
Talk about stabbing him in the heart!
Daniel was left speechless, while Valerie and Keith, walking behind them, burst into rather unkind laughter.
The top three performers in this exam also received rewards. Cole got an Eviolite, a held item that increases both Defense and Special Defense by 50% for Pokémon that haven't reached their final evolution.
After receiving it, he gave it to Chansey, for whom the item was perfect.
The afternoon was dedicated to the summer camp's closing ceremony, which consisted mainly of Professor Oak giving everyone words of encouragement. Being concise by nature, he finished quickly.
The ceremony's final segment honored the three students with the highest overall points, during which Cole truly stole the spotlight.
First place always captures the most attention. Every teacher and student at the summer camp would remember his name!
Finally, it was time for Professor Oak's special rewards for the top three.
Junichi, who placed third, received an extremely rare Ghost-type Pokémon — Honedge. This Pokémon was only found in small numbers in ancient ruins, making it ultra-rare.
Honedge was as rare as the Charcadet egg Cole had seen at the auction, which had sold for three million.
Chiyo, who placed second, received a special opportunity — a chance to enter Mt. Silver. Home to numerous rare Pokémon, it was the only known place where Tyranitar groups lived. The area was strictly guarded by League soldiers, and ordinary people weren't allowed entry.
With luck, she might catch a Larvitar, Pupitar, or even a Tyranitar there.
Finally, there was Cole, the first-place winner.
Professor Oak presented him with a gift that left everyone speechless — a ribbon from the legendary Pokémon Suicune.
Cole himself was shocked when he received it. Never had he imagined Professor Oak would give him something so valuable.
The ribbon was pure white, about two fingers wide and five feet long. It felt silky smooth, like water flowing through one's hands. Thick water-type energy emanated from it, and as Cole approached, a refreshing coolness washed over him.
"Professor, is this really for me?" Cole asked in disbelief.
"Of course, it belongs to you from now on. Use it well." Professor Oak said with a smile.
Actually, if Cole hadn't won first place, Professor Oak would never have offered something as valuable as Suicune's ribbon as a reward. But who could blame him — this boy was Red's brother!
Professor Oak felt deeply responsible for Red's disappearance and had carried this guilt for years.
After resigning from his Champion position, Red had rarely involved himself in League affairs. He either stayed home with Delia or traveled the world searching for his parents and brother.
When the League faced an important mission requiring attention, Professor Oak had approached Red because the current Champion Blue couldn't leave his post and the mission was particularly difficult.
Red had agreed without hesitation, but then mysteriously never returned.
Cole was the brother Red had spent over a decade searching for, and Professor Oak couldn't help but redirect some of his guilt toward helping him.
This ribbon from Suicune was a treasured item he had kept for many years. He hadn't even given it to his own grandson Blue, yet now he was giving it to Cole.
Cole still didn't know that he received Suicune's ribbon entirely because of the brother he had never met.
Because Cole's reward was upgraded, the second and third place rewards were also improved. In previous summer camps, Professor Oak had never offered such precious prizes.
Cole carefully put away the ribbon and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Professor. I'll treasure it."
Professor Oak patted his shoulder approvingly.
"Now, let's give these three students another round of applause." He said with a smile to the students below the stage.
Clap, Clap, Clap~
The students applauded enthusiastically, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at the three on stage, especially at Cole — that was a relic from one of the three legendary beasts, Suicune!
With the award ceremony over, the summer camp truly came to an end. Over the next two days, students would gradually leave Pallet Town under the guidance of their teachers.
As students filed out of the closing ceremony, Cole planned to return to his dormitory to pack his belongings. Just then, Professor Oak called out to him.
"Cole!" Professor Oak waved from a distance, "Come here, come here!"
Cole approached and asked curiously, "Professor, what is it?"
"Follow me and you'll see."
With that, Professor Oak led Cole into the research lab.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Meanwhile, deep inside the Viridian City Gym.
Giovanni sat in a chair, staring at the large screen before him displaying the two explosive news reports from this morning.
"John was arrested?" He asked his assistant, who stood beside him.
"Yes." Asuka nodded.
"Why didn't we receive any information about this?" Giovanni wondered.
Asuka looked troubled, "Our people planted in Silph Co. and the Hills family were almost all caught by the League. The news could hardly get out. The League's operation was extremely clean and swift."
"Why was John exposed?" Giovanni asked, puzzled.
"Not sure, but it must have been Vince's fault." Asuka said, shaking his head. He pushed up his glasses and added, "The Cinnabar Island lab was also completely raided!"
Giovanni fell silent at this news.
"That Vince excels at failure, not success." Asuka said bitterly, "Would we have ever entrusted Cinnabar's operations to him without John's backing? Now this major slip-up has destroyed all our carefully laid plans at Silph Co!"
Team Rocket had spent years meticulously planning to gradually take over Silph Company through John, intending to turn it into Team Rocket's cash cow.
Now it had all collapsed in an instant.
"Enough." Giovanni said, his composure intact, "What's done is done. There's no point dwelling on it now."
However, the next phone call completely changed his expression.
"Boss, big trouble! Something's happened at the New Island research facility!"
✲✲✲
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