The next day, Lucas woke up earlier than anyone else. He had slept comfortably last night — not a single dream, just sound sleep until bright daylight.
But how had he fallen asleep? He sat up in bed, looked at his unchanged clothes, and felt completely puzzled, unable to remember what happened the night before.
However, looking at the still-sleeping Cole, Keith, and Daniel, a mischievous smile spread across Lucas's face.
"You guys didn't want me to move out, right? Well, I'll show you the benefits of me staying in this dorm."
Wait... why does that line sound familiar?
Whatever, forget it! Time to get up!
With that thought, he jumped directly out of bed, making a thud as he landed on the floor.
At that moment, Cole suddenly opened his eyes, stretched his head out from the bed, and called out in a deep voice: "Lucas!"
Lucas instinctively turned around and saw purple light emanating from Cole's eyes.
"You…" Before he could finish speaking, his body softly collapsed.
What a familiar scene.
Cole caught him with his Psychic Powers, placed him back on the bed, then quietly got up and went to wash up.
By the time Keith and Daniel woke up, Cole was already gone from the dorm. The two of them were puzzled to see Lucas still sleeping.
Daniel said in a low voice, "Why is Lucas still sleeping at this hour?"
Keith shook his head, "He probably came back too late last night. Let's not bother him."
"You're right." Daniel nodded.
After washing up, the two left on their own, leaving the senior alone in the dorm, still sound asleep.
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In the morning, all the students in Cole's class had arrived in the classroom.
The teacher started taking attendance, and when it came to Lucas, he called, "Lucas!"
No response.
"Lucas?" the teacher called again, but still no one answered.
A girl raised her hand and pointed at an empty seat, "Teacher, Lucas hasn't arrived yet."
She was originally his classmate from the school Battle Department, which is why she spoke up.
"What's going on? Our class time is set so late — he shouldn't be late." The teacher said, clearly displeased.
Indeed, since they were participating in a summer camp, the schedule was quite relaxed, with roll call usually starting at 9 AM.
"Who shares a dorm with Lucas? Does anyone know what's going on?" The teacher asked.
"Teacher!" Daniel raised his hand gleefully, "When we left the dorm, he was still sleeping."
Upon hearing this, the teacher's expression darkened further, "Still sleeping? Really... deduct one point from him."
He recorded the punishment in the attendance book. The kid only had one point in total, and now it was gone. Truly unprecedented!
The teacher began the lesson, and halfway through, Lucas finally arrived, out of breath.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he ignored the teacher and looked directly at Cole, shouting angrily:
"Cole!!!"
At this moment, all he could think about was that brat's eyes glowing with purple light.
"Lucas, what are you doing?!" The teacher was furious, "Coming in late and daring to shout in the classroom is absolutely unacceptable. No wonder your results were at the bottom yesterday."
"Teacher, Cole sabotaged me!" Lucas said indignantly.
"Cole?" The teacher had quite a strong impression of Cole — after all, he had arrived a day late, yet still managed to get first place in the first scoring activity, "How did he sabotage you? Don't tell me you're blaming him for your lateness? Weren't you sleeping in the dorm until now?"
"I was sleeping in the dorm, but..." Lucas suddenly faltered, stammering without knowing how to explain.
"And you still blame others! Go back to your seat and sit down!" The teacher roared.
Lucas had no choice but to obediently return to his seat. Before sitting down, he glared fiercely at Cole, but when he saw a flash of purple light in his eyes, he immediately shrank back in fear.
Darn it~ a Psychic user! (Though his actual inner monologue was: (I'm so jealous!))
As soon as class ended, Daniel came over, put his arm around Cole's neck, and asked slyly, "Dear Cole, was Lucas's lateness really your doing?"
Thinking about how Cole had stopped them from making Lucas move out, Daniel had already confirmed his suspicions.
Cole feigned confusion and asked, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"Hehe~~" Daniel grinned mischievously, "I get it, I totally get it. It wasn't you, definitely not you!"
With that, he hummed a tune as he left the classroom. He was off to find his beloved Jynx.
During lunch break, Cole found a secluded spot, took out his phone, and began contacting people to promote his Pokémon storage service.
He first contacted Siebold.
Siebold was currently traveling, and he had become quite familiar with Cole and trusted him. So when Cole told him about his plan, Siebold immediately and straightforwardly agreed to store his Pokémon with Cole.
Next, Cole contacted Caitlin, the young Psychic girl he had met in Lumiose with Lysandre.
She wasn't very familiar with him, and while she showed interest in his service, she remained skeptical about his ability to deliver on his promises, so she hesitated.
No problem though, Cole told her she could take her time to consider it.
He also knew that Caitlin and Cynthia were good friends, so he asked Caitlin to help promote his Pokémon storage service to Cynthia.
Though Cole had never met her, this talented young woman who was already making a name for herself in Sinnoh, he had heard about her before — not from media or games in his previous life, but from television.
She frequently appeared on TV during Pokémon battle competitions.
After that, Cole contacted Sara, asking for help promoting his business to Lance.
Actually, he had Lance's contact information, but since they had barely been in touch, it seemed more appropriate to have Sara reach out.
However, this earned Cole a severe scolding from her.
[With such a great opportunity, you think of someone you barely know like Lance before me? We met first, we're supposed to be good friends!]
Cole directly told her, "If you can pay ten million a year, why not include you too?"
Sara immediately made a bold declaration.
[Ten million a year? That's nothing! I'm definitely getting in on this Pokémon storage business. I'll go beg my dad right away.]
Cole only knew so many talented trainers, so future growth of his business would depend on promotion and referrals from acquaintances.
After hanging up with Sara, he suddenly realized that his approach wouldn't work. For those who weren't already familiar with him, his credibility was too low — ten million a year was no small amount, so why would anyone trust him with their Pokémon?
He needed guarantors!
After quickly searching his mind, Cole identified potential candidates:
The current Kalos Champion, Diantha; Water-type Elite Four member Siebold; famous Pokémon Professor Sycamore; renowned entrepreneur Lysandre; the esteemed Professor Magnolia from Galar; and the legendary Professor Oak from Kanto!
Cole wasn't sure how many of these people would be willing to vouch for him, but even one or two would be enough — each was an influential figure with considerable weight!
Seeing that lunch break was almost over, he quickly put away his phone and left.
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The afternoon was once again dedicated to extracurricular activities. Today, Cole and his classmates were tasked with observing water-type Pokémon and their aquatic environment by the lake, then writing a report.
This wasn't a competition, so there were no points to earn, but if they wrote a poor report that didn't pass, they would lose points. That morning's class had covered water-type Pokémon and their aquatic habitats, making this a practical application of their learning.
The lake they were visiting was west of Professor Oak's laboratory and part of his property. The water-type Pokémon there were research subjects collected by him from various regions.
For their reports, students could write about the lake's aquatic environment, observe a specific Pokémon to record its habits, or document the way of life of an entire Pokémon community.
This was an individual assignment that didn't require teamwork, so when they arrived at the lake, the students spread out.
Cole found a spot with lush aquatic plants and released Brionne.
"Brionne, sing a song and see if you can attract some Pokémon. I want to ask them about the surrounding environment."
Since he could communicate with Pokémon, he planned to interview several of them to write a comprehensive report about the area.
"Brii~"
Brionne nodded, created a bubble that floated on the water's surface, then jumped onto it and began to sing.
"La la la La la la"
It was singing the ancient song that Milotic had taught it.
Sure enough, before long, water-type Pokémon began emerging from the water: Squirtle, Poliwag, Tentacool, Seel, Vaporeon, Totodile, Wooper... nearly all the water-type Pokémon in the vicinity were attracted.
Not only that, but Pokémon from the nearby forest also emerged (or flew out), including Scyther, Pidgey, Venusaur, Ninetales, and Jynx...
These Pokémon all belonged to Professor Oak's research lab, and despite their rarity, Cole couldn't capture them.
However... Jynx? Wasn't that the Pokémon Daniel had been yearning for? Who would have thought it was here? No wonder that guy could never find it before.
Brionne's singing was so beautiful that the Pokémon were completely entranced.
"Brionne, pause for a moment." Cole suddenly said.
The song abruptly stopped, and all the Pokémon glared angrily at him.
Seeing this, Cole smiled and said, "How about you answer some of my questions first, and after I'm done, I'll let Brionne sing for you again? Is that okay?"
The Pokémon reluctantly agreed.
So Cole began talking with the Pokémon one by one, asking about their experiences living in the lake, the water quality, the growth of aquatic plants, which large Pokémon communities lived in the lake, and other questions.
He even questioned the non-water-type Pokémon, since the surrounding land environment affected the aquatic ecosystem — they were all part of an inseparable whole.
Once he had gathered all the information he needed, Cole kept his promise and let Brionne continue singing for them. While the Pokémon enjoyed the performance, he sat leisurely by the lake writing his report.
Meanwhile, in the forest, Professor Oak was teaching a group of young children, introducing them to the various Pokémon living there.
One small boy stood out from the group, impressing his peers with his extensive Pokémon knowledge and drawing admiration from the other children.
A little girl who knew him well advised him to tone it down, warning that he wouldn't make friends by showing off, but the boy paid no attention.
These children were from the preschool group of Professor Oak's summer camp. Being smaller than the other groups, the professor usually taught them personally.
Ash had also signed up for this preschool summer camp session, but he had overslept and was now rushing from home!
Unfortunately, when he arrived at the research lab, a researcher informed him that Professor Oak had already left with the children. Disappointed, Ash could only return home.
Not far from where Professor Oak was teaching, a Pichu was living happily in the forest with a mother Kangaskhan and her child. The small Pokémon had no idea that years later, it would form an unbreakable bond with a boy named Ash.
Cole had just finished his report when he heard the sounds of battle coming from the forest.
"Brionne, wait here for me." He said, "I'll go check it out."
Brionne nodded and continued singing for the Pokémon.
Cole followed the sound and soon came upon a lush green meadow. There, a Nidoking was battling a small, cat-like Pokémon.
Nidoking first used Sludge Wave, controlling a large mass of purple poison that swept toward the mysterious Pokémon. The small creature's form flickered and disappeared, effortlessly evading the attack.
Not only did it escape the Sludge Wave, but the cat-like Pokémon amazingly countered with its own identical attack, drenching Nidoking in poison.
Furious, Nidoking shot a character-shaped flame from the horn on its head — a Fire Blast — toward its opponent. Once again, the small Pokémon's form flickered, allowing the attack to miss completely.
Then, to Nidoking's shock, the cat-like Pokémon countered with its own perfect Fire Blast.
It was Mew!
Cole's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of this legendary Pokémon, but he remained silent, carefully observing from his hiding spot.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
An exclamation suddenly came from nearby bushes. Startled, Mew turned its head and spotted both Cole hiding in the shadows and a little boy and girl concealed in the bushes.
It was the little boy who had just cried out.
"Mew~"
Mew covered its mouth, giggling playfully, then turned and flew away.
"Hey~ wait!!!"
The little boy quickly darted out from the bushes, chasing after it.
"Goh!"
The girl followed right behind him.
✲✲✲
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