Chapter 120: Registering as a Trainer
After four days of sailing, they finally arrived at Vermilion City. Thankfully, Surge truly had a talent for navigation; if it were someone else, Giovanni and his team probably would have been left to fate.
At the dock, Giovanni told Archer to contact his comrades and explain how to get Surge enlisted in the military. While on the ship, Giovanni had already told the boy that he wanted to put him in the military for some tempering.
Surge, who already had this idea, was very eager and looked forward to it. Giovanni, on the other hand, planned to first take him to deal with some other miscellaneous matters.
"Let's go," he said. "I'll take you to register as a trainer first."
"Yes, Boss," Surge responded respectfully.
The Pokémon Trainer Registration Center was located on the busiest street in Vermilion City. Though the rent was not low, compared to the high registration fee of 30,000 Pokédollars, it was not an issue.
The Pokémon League's buildings were naturally understated yet luxurious, and the staff working inside were all extremely wealthy. Though their strength as trainers might not be particularly strong, every one of them was a trainer. They also appeared more arrogant, feeling superior to others.
If Giovanni and Mars didn't have Poké Balls on their waists, clearly indicating they were trainers, they probably wouldn't have been given a good reception.
A plump man in a business suit enthusiastically walked over. "Two excellent trainers," he said. "My name is Silas. How may I help you?" Such people tend to be better at reading others. Just from their posture, he could tell that Giovanni was the leader among the three, so he looked at him when he spoke.
"Registering as a trainer," Giovanni said, raising an eyebrow at the man's chubby face.
"Oh, registering as a trainer," Silas said, feigning difficulty. "There's a small issue with that."
"What's the problem?" Giovanni's eyes narrowed slightly.
Silas, who was originally preparing to play coy, suddenly felt a chill all over his body. He looked around with some confusion, wondering why it had suddenly gotten so cold.
After a moment, he put a smile back on his face. "It's like this," he replied. "Because the quotas from above have been fewer recently, everyone needs to queue now. So you understand."
Giovanni gave a cold smile, immediately understanding what he meant. If you want to jump the queue, you have to pay more.
"How can it be processed in advance?" he asked, rubbing his chin.
"I'm just a staff member," Silas said, rubbing his hands, looking troubled. "I can't make the decision; it has to be someone higher up."
"Don't worry," Giovanni said, not wanting to waste any more words. "Name your price."
Upon hearing this, Silas's eyes lit up with greed. He held up both hands, showing two fives. "It's actually not much. Just this amount, and I guarantee it can be processed in a moment."
"Good," Giovanni grinned, his stark white teeth somewhat dazzling. "Let's do as you say."
"Boss, why don't we forget it?" Surge said, seeing that he was asking for so much more. "I can wait."
"Little brother, opportunities like this are rare," Silas said, putting on a concerned expression. "Today you're lucky to have met me. If it were someone else, they wouldn't be so easy to talk to." He wasn't willing to let this big fish go.
"Don't worry," Giovanni said, stopping him. "This is nothing to me."
"That's right," Silas pressed on. "For someone of such imposing demeanor, this is merely a drop in the ocean. Please, this way."
Upon arriving at Silas's office, he very politely made tea for them and invited Surge to sit opposite him. "Come, little brother," he said kindly. "You're from Vermilion City, aren't you? What's your name? How old are you, and where do you live?"
Ever since he had followed Giovanni, Surge had slowly regained his confidence. "My name is Surge," he said. "I'm fourteen..."
Silas entered his information into the large computer and found his details. He glanced at Giovanni, then at Surge, his eyes darting around as he put on a very troubled expression.
"Speak," Giovanni said, a bit annoyed. "Is there a problem?" He guessed this guy wanted to extort more money.
"It's like this," Silas replied, thinking for a moment. "This little brother's previous information isn't very complete. He doesn't have a guardian, and he didn't bring any identification, did he?"
Surge nodded. He had it before, but it was on the Golden Beauty, and now it was at the bottom of the sea.
"This makes things a bit troublesome," Silas said, scratching his head.
Giovanni directly slapped a Pokémon League credit card on the table. "There are 150,000 Pokédollars on this card," he said, looking at Silas meaningfully. "Do you think it's enough to handle everything that needs to be handled? I think this small problem should be easy to resolve."
This truly is a wealthy patron! Silas thought to himself. He had originally only planned to extort another 10,000. A brilliant, chrysanthemum-like smile immediately bloomed on his face. "No problem, absolutely no problem! You can be rest assured."
As he spoke, his hand reached for the card, but when he pulled, it didn't budge. He looked at Giovanni with some confusion.
"Take it," Giovanni said, easily letting go. "And make sure to hold onto it well."