“We’re here—”
After spending more than half a day traveling across the sea, the Po Lang finally docked at Verdanturf Town.
The three of them disembarked together and set foot in Verdanturf Town.
Professor Birch had clearly made thorough preparations.
The moment they got off the ship, a private car was already waiting to pick them up.
After spending several months traveling and training outside with Joy, he had finally returned to his former status as a Master Breeder.
Before long, they arrived by car in front of the Breeder headquarters.
“So this is the Breeder headquarters?”
The building before them was enormous and magnificent, but Wally had already learned about it through various channels.
Moreover, with the memories of his previous life, it was hardly enough to shock him.
“I’ll take you two to register.”
After getting out of the car, the old man intended to take the two youngsters inside to register.
The registration process was quite simple.
Birch led Wally and Joy into the main hall and had them submit their identification information at the counter.
It was obvious that the staff member had already been working for the entire day and looked rather exhausted.
“Joy, ten years old.
Recommender: the Joy family.
All right, your registration is complete.”
The registration clerk returned the Pokédex to Joy with a faint look of surprise, and her expression became noticeably more alert.
Ten years old, and a member of the Joy family.
It seemed she had encountered an extraordinary young talent.
Next, Wally handed over his identification information as well.
However, he did not qualify for a Pokédex identification record, so he could only present his most basic proof of identity.
“Name: Wally.
Age: ten.
No recommender?”
“Child, are you serious?”
After seeing the information on the computer, the clerk felt an almost unreal sensation.
What was going on today?
The first applicant was only ten years old.
Fortunately, she was a member of the Joy family and a regular here.
Although she was clearly a prodigy, the clerk could still accept that.
But this child was presenting only the most basic identification, had no recommender, and was merely ten years old.
In an era when even passing the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination at ten was extraordinarily rare, the clerk nearly assumed Wally was simply there to cause trouble.
However, her professionalism ultimately made her dismiss the thought.
“If you don’t have a recommender or a Pokédex identification record, you need to pay a registration fee of 1,000 Poké Dollars.”
The clerk then gave Wally some news that left him utterly stunned.
“You have to pay a fee just to take the examination?!”
Wally genuinely hadn’t known about this.
As far as he remembered, there didn’t seem to be any such requirement.
The requirement for a recommender was also something he had never heard of before.
That made him believe the clerk’s explanation.
“I remember that the book Regarding the Breeder Examination doesn’t say anything about having to pay a fee for the Breeder examination,” Wally said, voicing his confusion.
Even though he knew the clerk was unlikely to deceive him, he really didn’t have another 1,000 Poké Dollars on him.
If he couldn’t take the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination, then all his plans would be meaningless.
“Hmm?”
The clerk was somewhat surprised, but she patiently explained, “Perhaps you read an older edition.
I seem to remember that the current registration requirements are posted somewhere in the main hall.
You can go take a look.”
Hearing this, Wally finally believed her completely.
There was no reason for the clerk to lie to him.
“Could you make an exception?”
At that moment, Joy spoke from behind Wally.
“You two know each other?”
The clerk was somewhat surprised by Joy’s intervention.
She hadn’t expected the two youngsters to have arrived together.
“Yes.
I believe he has what it takes to become a Junior Pokémon Breeder,” Joy said with a nod.
The clerk was surprised by her words, but she still said, “But the rules are the rules.
If I alter the registration requirements, I could be fined—”
“However, considering that you’re both still so young, I’ll help you this once and register you anyway.”
A thought crossed the clerk’s mind.
Naturally, she wouldn’t dare violate the rules of the Breeder headquarters.
But if she personally paid the 1,000 Poké Dollars registration fee for Wally, there wouldn’t be any problem.
As for whether it was worth it—if Wally truly had the ability to become a Pokémon Breeder at the age of ten, what could be more attractive to her than that?
To her, this was an investment.
It was a chance to build a connection with someone.
A promising young Pokémon Breeder was worth making such an investment for.
“Thank you,” Joy said with a sigh of relief.
She had also noticed Wally’s predicament.
Under the circumstances, this was naturally the best possible outcome.
“Thank you,” Wally also said to Joy.
He was already an old soul in this life, so there was no point in worrying about his pride.
If he could take the examination without spending the money, why make things difficult for himself?
Just as the registration clerk was preparing to complete the registration, Professor Birch approached from a distance.
He had noticed that Wally’s registration was taking unusually long, which had caught his attention.
“You don’t need to trouble yourself.
Just put me down as his recommender.”
As soon as the old man arrived, he understood the situation and handed a card to the registration clerk.
Even before she saw him, the clerk was slightly startled by his words.
Those qualified to act as recommenders were generally members of certain powerful families within the Breeder headquarters or Pokémon Breeders of Intermediate level or above.
It seemed this child wasn’t without connections after all.
That made sense.
Otherwise, how could a ten-year-old have the confidence to come here and take the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination?
And he was acquainted with a member of the Joy family, too.
“You…
you’re Professor Birch!”
The registration clerk had initially been only mildly surprised, but after inserting the card into the reader, the information displayed on the computer immediately caused her to cry out.
The photograph, name, identity, and list of accomplishments displayed on the screen left her completely stunned.
Honorary Vice President of the Breeders Association, Master Breeder, master of genetics, Vice President of Pokémon Academy, and numerous other achievements—as well as the honors Professor Birch had received from various competitions during his youth.
The registration clerk became extremely excited.
“Greetings, Professor Birch.”
She immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to Birch.
If it hadn’t already been getting late and if there hadn’t been only a few people left to register, her exclamation would probably have attracted quite a crowd.
The influence of a Master Breeder among ordinary Trainers was comparable to the fascination that the Elite Four or a Champion inspired.
“There’s no need to make such a fuss.
Just finish the registration,” Birch said with a hearty laugh, waving his hand.
“Yes!”
At Birch’s instruction, the clerk became exceptionally diligent.
She handled every part of the registration process with extraordinary care, afraid that even the smallest mistake might occur.
The process was completed very quickly.
After returning their registration documents, the clerk continued, “I wish you both the best of luck.
Do your best!”
“We will.
Thank you.”
The two youngsters responded politely, without showing much excitement.
Both of them had absolute confidence in themselves.
There was no need to make themselves overly nervous or excited.
Seeing the calm expressions on the two youngsters’ faces, the registration clerk couldn’t help feeling a trace of admiration.
Anyone who could be connected to Professor Birch was unlikely to be an ordinary person.
It seemed this year’s examination was going to be very interesting.