The Future

Qinggu House, the orphanage in Fallarbor Town, had felt a little lonely since Terrance left. The children all seemed to have grown up overnight. Terrance's actions had made them understand the state Qinggu House was in, at least to some degree, and Grandma Oran could only sigh silently.

"So much time has passed. Where is Terrance now...?" Sitting on the eaves, Little Rina looked up at the sky, still worried about him.

"Hey, Rina, get down! It's too dangerous up there!!" Below her, A-Yang, his hair brown, shouted anxiously. Little Rina made a series of faces at him before reluctantly climbing down.

"Why are you shouting?" Rina asked, pouting unhappily.

"You..." A-Yang shook his head helplessly. He didn't quite know how to make Rina listen. Terrance was probably the only one who could do that.

"A-Yang... you're almost ten too. You're not planning to leave like Terrance, are you??" A-Yang's indignant expression reminded Rina of Terrance at first, and she suddenly sounded a little sad.

"Well..." Rina's question caught A-Yang off guard, and he didn't know how to answer.

Apart from Terrance, he was the oldest child at Qinggu House. He could understand Terrance's actions to some extent, but... when it came to traveling, A-Yang lacked even the most basic confidence.

Is it really that easy...? I don't even have a Pokémon right now... Compared to Terrance, I don't have his knowledge, or a Beautifly... much less the security of being an official Trainer... He fell silent for a while, but his basic sense of pride still made him force an awkward smile. "Maybe..."

Maybe in a year, maybe in two, maybe at ten, the legal age at which children were allowed to become independent, or perhaps after a few more years had passed, every child had a choice to face. None of them could escape it.

There was A-Yang, who idolized Terrance; Kota, who wanted to taste food from everywhere without a care in the world; Xiao Shi, who aspired to become a Coordinator; Akaya, who wanted to inherit Qinggu House; Mumu, who wished to become a big star; and Rina, who dreamed of becoming an investigator who caught bad people who hurt Pokémon.

Everyone had their own aspirations, but Qinggu House, their backgrounds, and other factors restricted them, leaving them no choice but to face reality.

"I really envy Terrance..." A-Yang sighed inwardly and looked out beyond Qinggu House.

Elsewhere, in Slateport City.

Inside a luxurious building.

Master Katsumune stroked his beard and opened his communicator, which contained a message from Nurse Joy Jun.

"Have you made your decision, little girl...?" Master Katsumune smiled. He had known that his student was unwilling to follow the path most of her family had taken. With her talent, how could becoming an intermediate Breeder be her limit?

Click~~ click~~ click~~

A current crackled through the communicator. The screen went black, then slowly turned white, and Nurse Joy Jun's face appeared. Having gained her family's approval, Jun once again spoke with her teacher about the direction of her future.

After a long conversation, their discussion gradually turned to Terrance. At the mention of the boy, Master Katsumune smiled with satisfaction.

"He's doing fairly well at the moment. Perhaps you'll meet again someday..."

Half the training period had passed, and so far everything seemed to be going smoothly. After all, Master Katsumune had received no news, which meant Terrance was doing fairly well.

Master Katsumune looked forward to it.

In the span of a month, just how far could Terrance, a newcomer from a humble background, take Swablu...?

And had Swablu awakened its Dragon-type talent yet...?

Sootopolis City, Sootopolis Gym.

Wallace looked helplessly at Milotic, who could no longer battle, with a wry smile on his face.

"I lost to you again, Steven."

Across from him, a young man with silver-blue hair smiled and said to Wallace, "You'd better keep at it."

"You've gotten even stronger, Steven..." Juan, Wallace's teacher and the referee for this friendly match, was also amazed by Steven's strength. He had thought his own disciple's talent was already frightening enough, but there was always someone better. Take Wallace's friend Steven, the son of the president of Devon Corporation. With his privileged background, his strength was a step above Wallace's.

"You're already preparing to challenge for that position, aren't you, Steven?" Juan looked at the young men with some emotion. "It seems the top seats in the Hoenn Region will belong to you two in the future..."

Whether Steven or Wallace, both were exceptionally strong in terms of ability and talent. Even Juan, a veteran Trainer, had to acknowledge them.

The presence of two such outstanding Trainers of the new generation in Hoenn filled Juan with emotion.

"Yeah, the old man at home has been pushing me too hard. But I'm not interested in those positions. If I could, I'd rather travel around and collect some stones I like..." Steven smiled awkwardly.

"But... it's not so easy to hold on to the top seat... A lot of talented Trainers are emerging these days." At that moment, Wallace suddenly thought of something and smiled.

"Oh?? You mean those two youngsters you mentioned last time?" Juan was curious.

Steven, hearing about them for the first time, couldn't help but lean in to listen.

"Yes... They passed the junior Breeder examination at just ten years old. I looked into one of them, and it turns out he's an orphan... You know how difficult the junior Breeder examination is, and just how hard it would be for someone who's only just old enough to become a rookie Trainer..." Wallace smiled. He had made considerable preparations for the junior Breeder examination. Although he had decided to take it on a whim at Steven's suggestion, the greatest factors in his success had been his years of exposure and his good educational environment.

Steven was taken aback. "Ten years old? That really is impressive. Even with a master hired by my family to teach me, I didn't pass the examination until I was twelve..."

Ten years old was the youngest passing age in the history of Breeders, and it was naturally no ordinary achievement.

"Interesting newcomers. I look forward to seeing how they grow..."

As the Pokémon League continued to expand into different regions, establishing branches in unknown new regions, increasing benefits for Trainers, widely popularizing and promoting League Conferences, and reducing the burden of becoming a Trainer, Juan, Steven, and Wallace all seemed to see a future in which exceptionally talented Trainers emerged one after another over the next few years.

Technology continued to develop, and living standards would rise with it. Pokémon were called humanity's friends, partners, and helpers, and sooner or later they would enter every household. By then, becoming a Trainer might no longer be out of reach, regardless of one's background. Five years... ten years... twenty years... Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and even Unova would bear the footprints of countless Trainers, a hundred flowers blooming in competition.