Breeder Headquarters

"We're here-"

After spending most of the day at sea, the S.S. Tidal finally docked in Qishui City.

The three disembarked together and set foot in Qishui City.

Master Katsumune had clearly come well prepared. A private car arrived to pick them up as soon as they disembarked. After spending several months traveling and training with Jun, he had finally returned to his status as a top master.

Before long, the car brought them to the Breeder Headquarters.

"So this is the Breeder Headquarters?"

The building before them was enormous and magnificent, but Terrance had learned about it through various sources long ago. With memories of his previous life as well, he was hardly awestruck.

"I'll take you two to register."

After getting out of the car, the old man planned to take the two youngsters to register.

The registration process was simple. Katsumune led Terrance and Jun into the hall and sent them straight to the counter to submit their identification.

The staff had been registering people all day, and their faces looked tired.

"Nurse Joy Jun, age ten, sponsor: Joy family. All right, registration complete." Slightly surprised, the clerk returned the Pokédex to Jun, looking a little more alert.

Ten years old and a member of the Joy family. It seemed she had encountered an extraordinary genius.

Terrance then handed over his identification as well. But he had not qualified for a Pokédex as proof of identity, so he had to give her his most basic identification document.

"Name: Terrance, age: ten, no sponsor?"

"Child, are you serious?"

A sense of disbelief welled up in the clerk as she looked at his identification and worked at the computer.

What was going on today? The previous applicant had been ten, but at least she was a member of the Joy family, who were regulars here. She was a genius, but the clerk could accept that.

But this child had only the most basic identification, no sponsor, and was just ten years old. In an age when it was exceedingly rare to qualify as a junior breeder at ten, the clerk nearly took Terrance for a troublemaker.

Her professionalism, however, made her dismiss the thought.

"If you don't have a sponsor or a Pokédex as proof of identity, you need to pay a fee of 1,000 yuan."

The clerk then delivered the news, leaving Terrance stunned.

"There's a fee to take the exam?!"

Terrance really hadn't known. From what he knew, he didn't recall any such rule. Still, he had never heard of the sponsor option either, which made him somewhat inclined to believe her.

"If I remember right, On Breeder Examinations didn't say anything about a fee for the breeder examination, did it?" Terrance voiced his doubt. Even though he knew she was unlikely to be lying to him, he really didn't have 1,000 yuan left. If he couldn't take the breeder examination, nothing else mattered.

"Hm?" The clerk was a little surprised too, but she patiently explained, "Perhaps you read an old edition. I believe there's a notice about registration in the hall. You can go have a look."

Hearing that, Terrance was fully convinced. She had no reason to lie to him.

"Could you make an exception?" Nurse Joy Jun, standing behind Terrance, spoke up.

"Oh, you know each other?" The clerk was a little surprised by Nurse Joy Jun's intervention. She hadn't expected the two youngsters to be together.

"Yes. I believe he has what it takes to become a junior breeder," Jun said with a nod.

The clerk was somewhat surprised to hear Nurse Joy Jun say that, but she still said, "Rules are rules, though. If I alter the registration, I could be fined-"

"But since you're both so young, I'll help you out this once and register you." A thought had occurred to the clerk. Naturally, she wouldn't dare violate the Breeder Headquarters' rules, but if she paid the 1,000 yuan herself to register Terrance, there would be no problem.

As for whether it was worth it, if Terrance really had what it took to become a breeder at ten, what could be more appealing to her than that? To her, this was an investment-a favor she was doing for him!

A promising young breeder was worth the expense.

"Thank you very much." Jun breathed a sigh of relief. She had noticed Terrance's predicament too.

Naturally, this was the best possible outcome.

"Thank you," Terrance said to Jun as well.

At his age, there was no question of being embarrassed. If he could take the examination without spending money, why make trouble for himself?

Just as the clerk was about to register him, Master Katsumune walked over from a distance. He had noticed that Terrance still hadn't registered.

"Sorry for the trouble. Put me down as his sponsor." As soon as the old man arrived, he grasped the situation and handed the clerk a card.

Before she even saw him, the clerk was slightly startled by his words. Apart from certain high-ranking families at the Breeder Headquarters, only breeders of intermediate rank or higher were qualified to act as sponsors. It seemed the boy wasn't without connections after all.

That made sense. Otherwise, how could he have the confidence to take the junior breeder examination at ten and be acquainted with Nurse Joy?

"You... you're Master Katsumune!"

The clerk had only been mildly surprised at first, but after she inserted the card into the slot, the information on the computer made her cry out.

The photo, name, identity and accomplishments displayed on the screen left her stunned.

Honorary vice president of the Breeder Association, top breeder, master of genetics, vice dean of Coronet Academy, and so on, along with the honors Master Katsumune had earned in various competitions as a youth-all of it left the clerk excited.

"Hello, Master Katsumune." The clerk immediately stood and bowed to Katsumune to show her respect.

If it hadn't been so late, with only the three of them left to register, her cry might have attracted quite a few people.

A top breeder's influence was comparable to the appeal the Elite Four, or even the champion, held for ordinary trainers.

"Never mind all that. Let's register him first." Katsumune laughed and waved a hand.

"All right!" At Katsumune's request, the clerk worked with particular diligence, carrying out the process with the utmost care for fear of making a mistake.

Registration was completed very quickly. After returning the identification documents, the clerk continued, "I hope you both get good results. Do your best."

"We will, thank you." The two replied politely, without much excitement.

They were both completely confident and had no need to make themselves overly nervous or excited.

Seeing the two youngsters' calm expressions, the clerk felt a touch of admiration and envy. How could anyone connected to Master Katsumune be ordinary? It looked like this examination would be very interesting.