With the Lily of the Valley Conference approaching and the Breeder Certification exams in progress, Veilstone City had suddenly been flooded with a large number of Pokémon trainers.
In the lobby of the Veilstone City Breeders' Association, Mai frowned as she looked at her scheduled exam time.
She had hoped to take the exam as early as possible so she could maintain her current momentum. What she hadn't expected was that after registering, she would enter exam mode the very next day.
"Earlier exam, earlier freedom."
Luther tried to ease Mai's nerves by sharing his own past experience, though he remembered the results of the exams he'd taken after saying that exact line...
Mai took a deep breath and nodded.
She knew the basic knowledge wouldn't be a problem, and the written portion likely wouldn't stop her either.
What Mai was worried about was the practical section. Although she had experience of raising many Pokémon, she had never undergone any systematic training; everything she knew was self-taught.
Luther's words helped Mai to clear her mind. At this point, she absolutely couldn't panic. The most important thing was to keep a calm, steady mindset.
Luther and Mai were staying in a park near the Breeders' Association.
Hotels had been full to capacity for some time due to the influx of Pokémon Trainers, and the Pokémon Center was also operating at full capacity. Due to scarcity, accommodation prices were constantly rising, so both Mai and Luther felt it wasn't worth wasting the money.
There were quite a few Pokémon Trainers camping in the park as well. Luther chose a relatively quiet spot in which to pitch the tent and declined Mai's offer to help.
Mai needed to make full use of the time to review her books. She didn't refuse. She took out her notebook and started revising again.
The newly joined Wurmple was lying on her shoulder. Seeing Eevee hopping around on the ground, it softly asked to be let down.
After hesitating for a moment, Wurmple slid carefully down Mai's back.
Eevee wrapped its fluffy tail around Wurmple and pulled it aside. "Don't disturb Mai."
As it spoke, Pachirisu pushed a bowl of food toward Wurmple's mouth. "If you've got nothing to do, how about eating a bit more?"
Wurmple was curious about being labeled "the one who can eat a lot." Its appetite clearly wasn't big, yet it was always given a generous portion.
"I remember you'd keep eating even when you were so full you could barely crawl," Pachirisu said, scratching its head.
It looks like this misunderstanding was pretty huge...
With the Pokémon's help, the tent was finally set up. Chansey was very experienced with daily life and cooking. Luther really wanted to handle things himself today, but Chansey waved the pan around, indicating that she had everything under control.
Luther took advantage of the free time and left the campsite with Milcery and Wurmple to head nearby so she and Wurmple could continue their routine sparring.
At first, the battles between the two Pokémon looked like nothing more than children roughhousing to Luther. Now, though, they were gradually becoming interesting.
Wurmple had learned to use feints to bait out moves, and Milcery gained insights into various moves during battle, reinforcing what she had learned.
As he watched Wurmple sway its body, tap the ground lightly with its tail to perform a gentle Splash, and dodge a Dazzling Gleam, Luther applauded.
He suddenly really wanted to ask, "Who else here can't fly?"
The rustling sound of 'Leafage' underfoot rang out. Luther, who was poking Wurmple to check its condition, looked up.
The newcomer was a sweet-looking girl, about ten years old, wearing a small, round hat. Compared to Luther, whose backpack held only two sets of spare clothes, her style exuded a strong sense of fashion.
"Are you a Pokémon Trainer?" The girl asked, glancing at Wurmple and Milcery.
Wurmple, who had been lying on the ground, saw the newcomer and scrambled to its feet. Milcery hurriedly jumped onto Luther's arm and held on tightly.
"Yes, I'm a Pokémon Trainer traveling to the Lily of the Valley Conference," Luther replied.
He popped a milk candy into Milcery's mouth and lifted her onto his shoulder.
"Oh?" The girl deliberately dragged out her tone and glanced at Luther. "Then how many Badges do you have?"
That kind of question was usually the opening move of a battle challenge.
The Lily of the Valley Conference would begin in three months. At this time, almost all Pokémon trainers were heading south through Sinnoh. The cities along the coast near Lily of the Valley Island would soon be flooded with trainers preparing to compete, as well as tourists waiting to enter and watch the matches.
Some Trainers were rushing to challenge Gyms near Lily of the Valley Island before the conference began, hoping to secure their entry. Others had already collected all their badges and arrived early to adapt to the environment and refine their teams.
Competition, or friendly sparring, if you prefer, had already begun by this point.
In camps where people slept outdoors, constant challenges served as a warm-up for the conference.
"Seven," Luther replied.
He didn't make any move to show his badge case. In situations like this, no one would lie about how many badges they had.
The girl's eyes lit up immediately. She immediately introduced herself, saying, "My name is Naomi. I'm a Pokémon Trainer, too, and I'm aiming to challenge the Lily of the Valley Conference. I challenge you."
That much was within Luther's expectations. But what Naomi said next left him momentarily stunned and then made him frown.
"The loser will give half of their Badges to the winner."
There had been flaws in the old systems of the Pokémon League. For example, regardless of who originally obtained a badge, only the final registered holder's information was recorded.
This led to a secondary market for reselling badges and even incidents of robbing trainers of their badges. After that, the Pokémon League implemented a Gym registration system that directly linked badges to a trainer's identity.
Of course, there was still one way to obtain another Trainer's Badges:
A wager.
Two Pokémon Trainers could apply to the local Pokémon League office for notarization and then conduct a battle. If enough League members acknowledged the legitimacy of the match, the wager could be completed.
It was almost impossible to intentionally throw a match to give someone your Badges. Not only were there people watching on-site, but regional Pokémon League members also reviewed the battle afterward. If someone powerful discovered foul play, they would be disqualified from challenging that region's Pokémon League.
Any trainer truly determined to compete would never take such a risk.
Not to mention, wagering itself was extremely risky... lose, and you would hand over your Badges outright.
Luther had never seen anyone mention this kind of thing while browsing the official forums. In the subforum dedicated to archived wager battle recordings, the most recent video was from two years ago.
Luther picked up Wurmple, placed it on his shoulder, clapped his hands, and stood up. "I'm not interested in playing house with you."
Three months was more than enough time. A capable Pokémon Trainer could ride between Gyms and easily collect the remaining Badges.
Trainers who were obsessed with wagering at this stage were basically trying to reap the rewards without effort, avoiding the fatigue of travel, the trouble of mountains and rivers, and all the hardship that came with the journey.
After spending time with people like Cynthia, Luther's self-control had improved. He couldn't be bothered to get angry at a kid like this. If he really wanted to, he could have accepted the challenge outright and taken all of Naomi's Badges to teach her a lesson, but Luther didn't do that.
He had no obligation to educate her. He wasn't her friend or her family.
Still, if her family didn't correct her way of thinking early on, she would suffer plenty in the future.
(End of chapter)
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