As the battle ended, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and sunlight once again fell upon the grass. The flowery sea lion elegantly adjusted its little skirt.
"Three consecutive wins is truly satisfying. No wonder the senior enjoys it so much." Cole said with a look of delight.
"You!!" The senior glared at him, his lips moving slightly, though it was unclear what he originally wanted to say. Finally, he only asked, "What's your name?"
Cole suddenly wiped the smile from his face, "Senior, we trainers respect strength above all. As the weaker one, you don't deserve to know my name!"
"Wow~~" Daniel whistled, "Well said!"
The senior's face turned red because these were the exact words he had said to Cole and the others when he first moved into the dormitory. Though not phrased exactly the same, the meaning was identical.
"What are you all doing here?"
Just then, Victoria's voice rang out, and all the spectating students scattered in an instant.
Cole had also planned to slip away, but she called him back.
"Cole, you're back?"
Cole turned around and said, "Y-yes."
"What were you all doing just now?" Victoria asked again.
"Nothing really. I just got back and saw the senior here, so we had a little sparring match. Right, senior?" Cole said with a meaningful smile as he looked at the senior who also hadn't managed to leave.
"Y-yes, that's right." Although the senior was reluctant to agree with him, he was also afraid of being punished, so he could only nod unwillingly.
At least now he finally knew the name of the person who had defeated him.
Cole!
The senior silently committed this name to memory.
Hearing Cole's answer, Victoria immediately became interested, "Sparring? Who won?"
The senior's face turned crimson at the question. He stammered without giving an answer, while Cole crossed his arms and watched the scene unfold, also remaining silent.
Looking at Lucas's expression, Victoria immediately understood everything.
Lucas was the top student in the fourth-year Battle Department at the Middle School and ranked first in battle performance throughout the entire school. Because of this, he had always been arrogant, looking down on everyone.
For him to show such embarrassment could only mean one thing: he had lost to Cole, and probably lost badly.
As a teacher in the Battle Department, Victoria's smile grew even wider after hearing this news — both because Cole had won and because Lucas had lost.
Cole's victory confirmed that her decision to recruit him to her department was correct. Lucas's defeat was the perfect opportunity to temper his usually condescending attitude.
"Not bad, Cole. Your skills would put you at the top even in our Battle Department. Have you considered transferring to us?"
Cole quickly waved his hands, "Teacher, I'm also first in the Breeding Department."
"Ah~ Don't be so quick to refuse! I see great potential in you, and you're a Psychic too. It would be such a waste not to make good use of that talent!" Victoria walked and chatted with him, completely forgetting about Lucas.
Lucas: Teacher, I'm your student! Why are you so concerned about students from other departments?
Eventually, Victoria discovered the conflict between Lucas and the others — Daniel, Valerie, Keith, and Cole. She summoned them all to her side.
"You are all students of our Fourth Middle School. Now your conflicts have spread all the way to Kanto, in front of students from other schools. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Everyone remained silent, chastened by the teacher's rebuke.
"I'm embarrassed for you! If you have conflicts, you can come to me. Making a scene like this looks terrible."
"It's just that the senior is so infuriating!" Daniel muttered, still defiant.
"I said, you can report to me. Would I not handle it?" Victoria glared sharply at him. After dealing with Daniel, she turned to Lucas and said, "Lucas, this isn't your first time behaving this way. I've warned you many times before!"
Lucas's gaze wandered, seemingly not taking her words to heart.
Victoria grew angrier, "You think you're so great? That's only because your horizons are limited and you've met too few trainers. Once you step outside, you're nothing. Look at how completely you lost to Cole!"
Hearing these words, Lucas's expression finally changed. He wanted to object, but his crushing defeat at Cole's hands was undeniable. For a moment, he was speechless.
"Anyway..." Victoria waved her hand and rubbed her temples in frustration.
She truly didn't know how to handle this boy anymore.
"You may not take my words to heart now, but someday you'll learn your lesson." After a moment's thought, she said, "Since there's such a big conflict between you all, why don't I help you change dormitories?"
"Yes, yes!" Daniel eagerly agreed.
"Teacher, that won't be necessary!" Cole interjected.
Keith: ???
Hearing this, Daniel stared at him in confusion, as if saying: What are you doing?
Cole gave them a reassuring look, and finally Daniel reluctantly said, "Let's forget about it."
In the end, the dormitory arrangements remained unchanged.
After the teacher left, Daniel whispered to Cole, "Why didn't you let the teacher change our dorm? I'm really sick of him."
Cole replied, "With his personality, if he moves to another dorm, wouldn't that just trouble others? Don't worry, if he tries anything again, I have ways to deal with him."
Daniel thought about it and agreed that making Lucas someone else's problem wouldn't be right, "Alright, I'll trust you this time."
After that, Cole returned to normal summer camp life.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
The summer camp followed a consistent daily schedule divided into two parts:
In the morning, students attended classroom lectures on Pokémon-related cultural knowledge; in the afternoon, they participated in practical outdoor activities led by teachers.
With the morning cultural class already finished, Cole was set to join the outdoor activities in the afternoon.
At noon, he ate lunch with Daniel and the others in the research institute's cafeteria before returning to the dormitory for a short rest.
Lucas hadn't returned to the dorm, and no one knew where he'd gone — not that anyone cared.
As the afternoon outdoor activities began, Cole learned that today's event would be a bug-catching contest.
Behind Professor Oak's research institute stood a relatively small mountain that was part of the institute's grounds. The area had been stocked with various bug-type Pokémon specifically for this event.
The students' task was to enter the mountain and capture these Pokémon through battles.
Catching the Pokémon alone wasn't enough, though. Students also needed to record their basic information — type, ability, known moves, and other details.
For a capture to count as valid, the recorded information needed to be at least 80% accurate. The team with the most valid captures would win.
The winning team would receive enticing rewards: a delicious dinner and a large number of points!
Throughout summer camp, students earned points based on their performance in exams and activities. At the end, the three highest-scoring students would receive a special prize from Professor Oak himself.
A prize from Professor Oak! This was no small matter, so everyone was eager to compete for the top spots.
The junior division of the summer camp had nearly two hundred students, with about thirty per class. Each class had its own temporary homeroom teacher.
Cole's class was led by Kevin, a short-haired teacher with black-rimmed glasses who was reportedly one of Professor Oak's students.
When the time came for the afternoon activity, students gathered at the foot of the mountain, waiting for the teachers to arrive and signal the start.
After Cole's class had gathered together, Kevin stepped forward to explain the rules of the bug-catching activity.
"This activity will be team-based, not individual. Your team's ranking will determine your personal ranking, and the points your team earns will be your personal points. Cooperation is essential, so avoid conflicts.
Each team should have 2-5 members. Choose your team size based on what you think works best for your strategy.
You may now form your teams freely."
As soon as he finished speaking, students began forming teams. The scene was similar across all classes.
Cole, Keith, Daniel, and Valerie naturally grouped together as a quartet.
Every class had a few loners, like Lucas, who stood alone with a cool expression, pretending not to care about finding teammates.
However, since this activity was designed to develop teamwork skills, the teachers couldn't allow anyone to participate alone.
In the end, Lucas was forced to join a five-person team with other loners from different classes. These students were typically either antisocial or troublemakers like him — all difficult to get along with.
"Once you've formed your teams, come collect your Poké Balls!" Kevin called out.
Catching Pokémon naturally required Poké Balls, which the research institute had prepared in advance.
Each team sent a representative to line up and collect their supplies.
After all teams had formed and received their Poké Balls, Professor Oak arrived.
He stepped onto the platform and addressed the students, "While there aren't any particularly dangerous Pokémon on this mountain, accidents can happen to anyone. Please be careful and do not venture beyond this mountain under any circumstances!
That's all I have to say. Good luck to everyone! I look forward to seeing your performance. The competition begins now!"
As he concluded, students rushed toward the mountain.
"Be careful!"
The teachers called after them while activating their drones, sending them flying toward the mountain.
These drones would monitor the situation, both to prevent cheating and to quickly identify if anyone encountered trouble.
"Come on, let's go!" Daniel cheerfully called to Cole and the others.
During cultural classes, he had been drowsy, but now that it was time for outdoor activities, he was bursting with energy — a classic underachiever.
As they walked, Cole assigned tasks to everyone, "Those with flying Pokémon should release them for reconnaissance. Valerie, when we encounter Pokémon, we'll handle the battles and captures, and you'll be responsible for recording the Pokémon's basic information."
"Got it!"
Valerie nodded and took out the paper and pen she had prepared in advance. Her battle ability was indeed the lowest among the three.
Cole and the others chose a less crowded direction and began climbing the mountain. He released his Pidove while Keith released his Fletchinder.
Daniel and Valerie didn't have any flying-type Pokémon.
"I wish I had caught a flying-type Pokémon too. It's really inconvenient without one sometimes!" Valerie remarked as she watched the Pidove and Fletchinder soar in different directions.
Daniel, however, didn't seem concerned, "I prefer quality over quantity. Besides, since I'm not a battle-type trainer, it doesn't matter whether I have flying Pokémon or not."
Thinking of his weird preferences when catching Pokémon, Valerie couldn't help but roll her eyes.
But then she heard him say, "Ah~ I didn't see Jynx today either."
"Get lost!" Valerie gave him a hard kick in the butt.
While Pidove and Fletchinder were flying out, Cole also extended his Psychic Power around the area.
Before either Pokémon could discover anything, he had already sensed something.
"Wait, let's go this way!" Cole suddenly stopped the other three and led them around a corner.
After walking about a dozen steps, the group found a Caterpie wriggling in a patch of grass. Its green color blended so well with the surroundings that it was nearly impossible to spot.
"Cole, you're amazing! Do you have an extra pair of eyes or something?" Daniel exclaimed with exaggeration.
Hearing this, Valerie slapped him, "Did you forget that Cole has Psychic Powers?"
Only then did Daniel remember. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Oh right, I completely forgot!"
"Keith, this Caterpie is yours. Valerie, start recording!" Cole directed.
"Yes!"
Both Keith and Valerie responded at once. Valerie quickly began taking notes on her paper, while Keith summoned his Fletchinder.
"Fletchinder, Ember!"
As he commanded, small flames appeared on Fletchinder's wings and shot toward the Caterpie.
However, the flames didn't hit the Caterpie but landed on the ground beside it.
This wasn't due to poor aim — Keith was deliberately testing the Pokémon, as they still needed to record the Caterpie's basic information.
Sure enough, when startled, a barely noticeable powder rose from the little bug's body.
Seeing this, Keith called out to Valerie, "The Caterpie's ability is Shield Dust!"
Caterpie only has two abilities: the regular ability Shield Dust and the hidden ability Run Away. This one clearly had Shield Dust.
"Understood!" Valerie quickly jotted this information down on her paper.
✲✲✲
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