Two years later.
Today is Cole's graduation day from Fifth Elementary. He's twelve years old now, making him the oldest student at Fifth Elementary School, as well as the most outstanding student the school has seen in recent years.
Over these two years, he has ranked first in almost every exam and, as a result, rarely attended classes. Apart from a few teachers and Charlie and the others, he barely knew anyone at school.
His homeroom teacher, Boris, looked at the child before him who was nearly as tall as himself, and remarked with emotion, "I can't believe you're already graduating. Time really flies!"
"Mr. Boris, thank you for taking care of me these past two years." Cole said gratefully.
Boris smiled wryly, "I haven't been able to help you with anything, really. I feel quite ashamed."
This kid had always been self-taught, and his homeroom teacher hadn't really taught him much. Instead, having such an outstanding student had actually brought the teacher some indirect benefits.
"I really mean it, thank you so much." Cole was truly grateful to Boris from the bottom of his heart.
If it weren't for the teacher bearing the pressure and allowing him to study at home, he wouldn't have had so much time to manage the orchard and cultivate fruit trees, and his orchard wouldn't have gotten on track so quickly.
"Ah~" Boris sighed, "Let's not talk about that. Keep working hard in the future. I wish you great success."
As he spoke, he took out Cole's diploma and handed it to him.
"I will, teacher. I should go now, but I'll come visit you when I have time." Cole said after taking his diploma.
"Go on, go on. I need to attend this year's graduation ceremony anyway."
After leaving Boris's office, he planned to head home.
Passing by the school plaza, he saw all the students gathered there for the graduation ceremony. But he didn't make an appearance, turning around and leaving directly instead.
Actually, the principal had approached him earlier, hoping he would give a speech as the graduating class representative on graduation day, but Cole had declined.
What would he say on stage? That he barely came to school all year? That he spent his time in class reading unrelated books? That he didn't get along with his classmates and was always alone?
He felt he had nothing worth saying. Besides, his good grades were merely due to some natural talent and a more mature mindset, not any special study methods, so he had even less to share.
Principal Kamo wasn't meeting Cole for the first time and knew his personality, so seeing his insistence, he didn't push the matter.
To be honest, this kid was quite famous at school now, because his name always topped the rankings in every exam. Especially to the new students who had enrolled in the past two years, he was like a legendary figure — known by name but never seen in person.
To the classmates who had met Cole, he was just an antisocial loner, but to the underclassmen who had never met him, he was shrouded in mystery, sparking much curiosity.
A student so brilliant he was specially permitted to skip attending classes — how awesome!
Many underclassmen were disappointed they couldn't see him at today's graduation ceremony.
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After leaving school, Cole went straight to the Blue Bird Orphanage. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, a little bundle of energy shot into his arms like a bullet.
"Oof~"
He caught the little one — who else could it be but little Claire?
This little girl was already four years old but still couldn't speak.
After the orchard got on track and Cole earned some money, he and Meili took Claire to see doctors at the big hospital. The doctor confirmed her throat could be treated, which was undoubtedly good news.
But Claire was too young and her throat hadn't fully developed yet, so surgery wasn't possible now. The doctor said they would have to wait until she was around ten years old, when her throat was fully developed, before they could begin treatment.
So Cole and Meili had to take her back home. Still, the fact that Claire's throat could be treated was already great news for everyone.
"Where's Director Meili?" He asked gently while holding the little girl.
Two years had passed, and both Norman and Paul had reached school age, being sent to Fifth Elementary School a year ago and recently, respectively. Now only Meili, little Claire, and another child less than a year old remained at home.
That's right, Blue Bird Orphanage had recently gained a new member — a baby boy less than a year old who had been abandoned at the orphanage's door and found by Meili.
Later, when Officer Jenny couldn't find his parents, she officially registered the child at Blue Bird Orphanage. Meili named him Matthew.
Cole usually spent most of his time at Ascendant Mountain and wasn't present when the boy was registered at the orphanage. He only learned about having a new little brother when Meili mentioned it during one of her visits to the mountain.
Matthew was healthy, but nobody knew why his parents had abandoned him.
Hearing Cole's question, Claire pointed toward the kitchen. Just then, Meili heard the commotion in the courtyard and came out.
Seeing Cole, she exclaimed happily, "Cole, you're back! Did everything go smoothly with getting your diploma?"
Since he rarely attended classes, she had been worried the school might not issue his diploma.
"Don't worry, everything went smoothly." Cole said as he set Claire down, "Go play with Helioptile and Popplio. I'll help Director Meili."
He took out his Poké Balls and released his two Pokémon.
Compared to two years ago, Helioptile hadn't evolved into its final form but had grown much larger than when first caught. Its golden scales gleamed brilliantly, clearly showing how well it had been cared for.
"Hebi~ Hebi~"
As soon as it appeared, it stood upright and waved its little claws to greet Claire, showing itself to be quite the polite fellow.
Popplio hadn't changed much, except that its deep blue fur had become as profound as the ocean, easily catching people's attention — quite the striking young lady.
Helioptile hadn't evolved into its final form because it needed a Sun Stone, but why hadn't Popplio evolved after two years?
Because Cole had given it an Everstone to wear.
Over these two years, he had been working on illuminating the hidden energy circuits of Popplio, Daisy, and Helioptile. He wouldn't let Popplio and Helioptile evolve until all their hidden energy circuits were fully illuminated.
It wasn't that Cole couldn't afford a Sun Stone now; he was preventing the little gecko from evolving because its hidden energy circuits weren't completely illuminated yet.
Who knew how the hidden energy circuits would change after Pokémon evolution? He would rather have his two Pokémon evolve later than risk their potential being incompletely developed due to rushing.
Besides, even without evolving, their strength hadn't been held back. In the orchard now, except for Daisy and the Talonflame leader, no other Pokémon could match these two.
Currently, most of Popplio and Helioptile's hidden energy circuits had been illuminated, with just a small portion remaining. It shouldn't be long before they're completely illuminated, allowing them to evolve to their next stage without worry.
Daisy, however, still had far to go, as its hidden energy circuits were too complex, with only half illuminated so far. But since it was already in its final form, whether its hidden energy circuits were fully illuminated or not didn't really matter.
To illuminate Helioptile's hidden energy circuits, Cole had put in quite some effort, since paralysis had no effect on it.
One day, while passing by the Pokémon Center, he happened to see a trainer rushing in with a severely injured Pokémon, which Nurse Joy immediately sent to the operating room.
Suddenly, he realized he could use anesthetic on the gecko!
He asked Officer Jenny for help, who introduced him to Nurse Joy. Through her, he was able to purchase an anesthetic — one commonly used by Pokémon doctors during surgery that could safely block all sensations in a Pokémon's body.
With this medicine, Helioptile's hidden energy circuits were successfully illuminated.
This anesthetic wasn't easy to obtain; if it weren't for Officer Jenny's guarantee, Nurse Joy certainly wouldn't have sold it to Cole.
Little Claire was very familiar with these two Pokémon by now. She obediently reached out, holding Helioptile with one hand and Popplio with the other, then toddled off to play.
Today was Cole's graduation day, and Meili had specifically asked him to come back to celebrate with everyone. She was in the kitchen preparing a feast.
"What are you doing in here? I can manage by myself!" She exclaimed when she saw him enter the kitchen.
"It's fine, I've got nothing else to do anyway." He replied, rolling up his sleeves to help her wash vegetables.
By the time Alfred, Charlie, Lily, Norman, and Paul returned from school, Meili and Cole had prepared a table full of delicious food.
"Wow~ So much delicious food!"
Seeing the table full of delicacies, Charlie and Paul exclaimed and rushed forward, reaching out to sneak some food.
Smack! Smack!
Lily, who was right behind them, gave each of them a slap on the back of their heads just as they reached out.
"Trying to eat before everyone's here — no manners! And you haven't even washed your hands — that's unsanitary!"
The two boys held their heads, not daring to talk back. In the whole household, besides Alfred, Lily was the one they feared most.
During dinner, Alfred looked at Cole and asked, "Cole, after entering middle school, you'll be joining the Pokémon department, right?"
"That's right." He nodded.
This was something he had decided long ago, though he didn't plan to enter the traditional trainer program.
Speaking of Alfred, although he hadn't graduated from middle school yet, he already had his own career and the worried look had disappeared from his face, replaced by quite an ambitious air.
When the first batch of berries ripened in Cole's orchard, Alfred surprised him with a large order from a breeding center that purchased almost the entire harvest. Later, Cole learned how much effort his good brother had invested in selling his berries.
Of course, it helped that Cole's berries were superior to most others on the market; otherwise, no one would readily abandon their existing suppliers to choose him.
The breeding center had since become a permanent partner of his orchard, enabling Cole to repay Ramos's loan in just two years.
Impressed by Alfred's outstanding performance, Cole had entrusted him with full sales rights to his berries, allowing himself to focus exclusively on managing the orchard.
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
Alfred had originally studied architecture in middle school, but after taking over this new role in Cole's business, he switched to business administration.
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