Coronet Academy

"Two choices. First, I can help you register as a Trainer and get you a promising starter Pokémon issued by the Pokémon League."

Trainer registration alone cost 100,000, and a starter Pokémon cost another 100,000.

For Qinggu House, 200,000 was enough to cover years of expenses. That was why Grandma Oran couldn't afford to support a child in becoming a Trainer.

The two thousand and some Terrance had brought with him was money he had saved bit by bit over four years.

So the first choice Master Katsumune offered would be a tremendous help to Terrance. Not only would it solve his housing problem, but being a registered Trainer would also get him discounted meals at Pokémon Centers and bring him considerable benefits in many other places.

"What's the second choice?" Terrance didn't rush to decide.

"The second choice is that I can give you a chance to enter Coronet Academy," Master Katsumune said unhurriedly.

"Coronet Academy? What's that-"

The name was unfamiliar to Terrance.

Master Katsumune patiently explained.

"Coronet Academy is a comprehensive school in the Sinnoh Region. Along with Champion Academy in Kanto and Silver Academy in the Johto Region, it's known as one of the three great cradles of talent. Every graduate of the academy achieves no less than a competitor who places in the top three at a regional conference. Of course, that's only the average."

"However, Coronet Academy's graduation requirements are also extremely difficult. They aren't something an ordinary person can meet. Likewise, its admission requirements are even stricter. Without exceptional talent or connections, buying your way in would cost a million..."

Coronet, Silver, Champion-the three great academies!

Master Katsumune's words taught Terrance another lesson. He hadn't expected the world to have three such special places; he had never even heard of them in his books.

"But they aren't quite as impressive as you might imagine. All three academies are remnants of a bygone era. Take Wallace, for example. Even if he entered Coronet Academy, he would be among its finest talents, with few people able to compare to him." Explaining it to Terrance took Master Katsumune quite a few words.

"For the second choice, I'll give you a chance to transfer into Coronet Academy. There, your tuition would be waived, and you'd have free room and board. You could study whatever you liked, whether that's becoming a Breeder, a Coordinator, or learning the various battle tactics Trainers use. But if you choose this, you'll have to undergo a rigorous assessment. If you fail, you'll lose both opportunities."

Those were the two paths before Terrance.

The first was to become a registered Trainer. With hard work, he might then achieve his dream one step at a time, but nobody could say what would happen while he figured things out for himself.

The second was to pass an unknown assessment and earn a chance to enter Coronet Academy. An academy mentioned by Master Katsumune presumably wasn't an ordinary place. Although he wouldn't receive Trainer registration, the free room and board and the chance to formally study how to become a Coordinator or Breeder, as well as tactics and other subjects, seemed hard to turn down. Moreover, every outstanding graduate achieved remarkable success and was sought after by major institutions.

"Have you decided?"

"I have."

Without hesitation, Terrance knew what choice to make, as any competent transmigrator would.

These were plainly the easy and hard modes, and with time pressing, he had no reason to choose easy mode.

Just as Master Katsumune thought, only by undergoing trials could Terrance make greater progress.

"I'm willing to take the assessment."

From his "shrewd" perspective as a transmigrator, Terrance believed Master Katsumune also wanted him to make that choice.

"Are you sure? If you fail the assessment I give you, you could lose every opportunity." Master Katsumune tried once more to shake Terrance's resolve, but the more he did, the less Terrance wavered.

The hint is this obvious. How could I refuse?

"Yes, I'd like to try." Terrance believed Master Katsumune wouldn't make things difficult for him. As long as the assessment was possible to pass, he would do his utmost to succeed!

"Haha, good. Since you've chosen this path, I'll first tell you about Coronet Academy. That should also fire up your fighting spirit. As for the assessment, it's not time for that yet." Master Katsumune smiled as he spoke. Terrance's choice had indeed pleased him.

Coronet Academy.

It had been founded more than a hundred years ago by a Master-level Trainer of the time to promote the profession of Trainer. After a century of development, Coronet Academy had not grown into a behemoth like the League, but it was still an independent power recognized by the Pokémon League.

It was strong. In terms of the academy's overall strength, every successive head had been no weaker than a member of the Elite Four. Its faculty was also exceptionally strong, consisting mostly of academy graduates and elites who had returned from various fields, including Coordinators, Breeders, Trainers and scholars. Quite a few Gym Trainers and even Elite Four members had studied at Coronet Academy.

As the Pokémon League developed, the number of Trainers grew greatly. After regional conferences and Gyms were established, the wilderness became safer and benefits for Trainers increased. Trainers liked to travel on their own, collect Badges, catch more Pokémon and enjoy the journey, so the academies' standing declined greatly. Although a few traditional aristocratic schools and children's schools remained in certain places, none amounted to much.

Coronet Academy, Silver Academy and Champion Academy were the only three places that still retained their status as orthodox academies.

Their century-old foundations and public nature were things educational institutions and organizations established by the emerging aristocracy could not match.

Master Katsumune had graduated from Coronet Academy and was now its vice head, so he had ample confidence in arranging Terrance's transfer.

"If you can graduate from Coronet Academy, you can even apply to the Pokémon League to have a Gym of your own and receive League subsidies."

Coronet Academy had a four-year system, divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced and graduating classes. In theory, students enrolled at ten and graduated at fourteen, but that was only in theory. Only a few exceptionally gifted people could pass the academy's graduation assessment.

Some wasted their time until they were in their twenties without graduating, then were advised to withdraw.

Some geniuses, however, applied to skip grades and completed the entire curriculum in two or three years, gaining strength no weaker than their teachers'.

That was Coronet Academy: a cradle of talent abandoned by the times, yet keeping a small flame alive through recommendations and graduates giving back.