“Congratulations to all ten of you!”
With the grand announcement ringing through the venue, the examination officially came to a perfect conclusion.
The Breeder Headquarters staff began presenting certificates to the ten examinees who had passed.
The first person to receive one was Wallace, who had achieved the highest overall score.
The examination was over.
At exactly 5:00 p.m., the results were immediately released, and the certificate presentation ceremony was held at the same time.
A Junior Pokémon Breeder certificate.
The sky-blue booklet symbolized one’s status as a Pokémon Breeder.
Wally had finally obtained it.
He accepted it with both hands and opened the certificate.
His portrait was affixed to it, followed by his name, Wally, as well as the date and his age when he passed the examination.
At that moment, cameras beneath the stage began clicking rapidly.
Whether it was the two ten-year-old Pokémon Breeders or Wallace, all three were major topics of interest, and the media certainly wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.
However, in the end, the reports focused on Joy and Wallace.
Wally’s information seemed to have been deliberately erased from the coverage.
“Heh heh.
You did quite well.”
Professor Birch looked at the two youngsters with a smile.
Even in his eyes, their results were exceptionally impressive.
“Master, you haven’t forgotten about the rewards you promised, have you?
The two of us came in second and third place, after all.”
Not only Wally, but Joy was also eagerly looking forward to the rewards Professor Birch had promised.
“Of course not.
I don’t go back on my word.
But I’ll need to prepare something carefully for the two of you.”
Professor Birch laughed heartily.
Wally was also somewhat curious.
What would he receive…?
Looking back on it now, Wally really was fortunate to have met Joy and Professor Birch.
Otherwise, he might not even have been able to obtain the qualifications to take the examination.
It seemed that luck was quite important after all.
The news that Wallace and Joy had become Pokémon Breeders quickly spread through the media, soon causing quite a stir within the community.
Wallace was already a public figure in the Hoenn Region.
Now that he had made a strong entrance into the Breeder world, people couldn’t help but wonder whether he was preparing for something.
Those with an interest in the matter immediately began paying attention to the young man.
As for Joy, becoming a Pokémon Breeder at the age of ten was an achievement rarely seen in many years.
However, with the reputation of both the Joy family and Professor Birch behind her, it didn’t cause quite as much shock.
There was praise, of course, along with a sense that such an achievement was almost inevitable—and considerable anticipation for what she might accomplish in the future.
Even so, within the Joy family, Joy’s achievement at such a young age was already among the most outstanding.
Wally also saw the reports.
Almost all of them focused on Wallace and Joy.
Wally and the other successful examinees were mentioned only briefly, and his name didn’t even appear.
Although he didn’t know why, Wally didn’t particularly care.
Even though his age alone could have attracted considerable publicity, that wouldn’t allow him to become powerful overnight.
At most, it would simply cause a few influential figures to pay more attention to him.
Besides, one of those influential figures was already right beside him.
So why worry about the rest?
…
…
“Professor Birch, you wanted to see me?”
Wally looked respectfully at the elderly man in front of him.
“You’ve come, Wally.
That’s right.
I asked you to come because of what happened yesterday.”
Professor Birch smiled.
What happened yesterday?
“Is it about the reward?”
Wally’s eyes lit up.
“That’s right.
Since I promised to give you two youngsters some rewards, I naturally won’t go back on my word.”
Professor Birch sat down without any ceremony.
He didn’t put on the airs of a renowned Master Breeder; he was still the same person Wally had met when they first encountered each other.
At Professor Birch’s invitation, Wally sat down as well.
“Where’s Joy?”
Wally asked.
If this was about the promised reward, surely there was supposed to be one for Joy as well.
“Her?
Her situation is different from yours, so naturally, her reward will be different too.”
Professor Birch smiled.
Hearing that, Wally said nothing more.
“Wally, you’re an orphan, aren’t you?”
After a moment of silence, Professor Birch suddenly spoke.
Wally froze.
How did he know?
Had he investigated him?
Given Professor Birch’s status, finding out something like that probably wasn’t difficult.
It was the truth anyway, so there was no reason for Wally to hide it.
He nodded.
“Your background is far less favorable than Joy’s.
Have you ever thought about your future?”
Seeing Wally nod, Professor Birch continued.
“My future?”
Wally certainly had his own goals.
But as for how he would achieve them, he was indeed somewhat lost.
He had already become a Junior Pokémon Breeder.
What came next?
Continue advancing through the Breeder examinations while also becoming a Pokémon Coordinator?
And how much time would he have to spend working toward those goals…?
“Yes.
I want to become a top Pokémon Coordinator and…
even become a Master Breeder as well.”
After thinking for a moment, Wally gave his answer.
Professor Birch was stunned.
He had anticipated that Wally might mention becoming a Master Breeder, or perhaps becoming a Coordinator or Trainer.
But Wally’s answer still struck him as rather ambitious.
“Neither of the achievements you mentioned is easy to attain.
For one person to spend their entire life achieving even one of those goals would already be an extraordinary accomplishment.”
The old man’s words were earnest.
Wally shook his head.
“But I still want to pursue them.”
Becoming a top Pokémon Coordinator represented the original dream he and the children of Verdanturf House had shared.
Becoming a Master Breeder was the promise he had made when he decided to shoulder Verdanturf House’s future—to become a Master Breeder, earn a great deal of money, and give everyone a brighter future.
The two professions might seem contradictory.
Yet each one embodied an important part of Wally’s own ideals.
“Then…
do you truly believe you can reach that level?”
Professor Birch looked at him seriously.
“Becoming a Pokémon Breeder at ten years old is certainly impressive, but you’re still only a Junior Pokémon Breeder.
Perhaps after working hard and relying on your accumulated knowledge and experience, you’ll successfully become an Intermediate and then a Master Breeder.
But how long will that take?”
“Each of the goals you’ve mentioned isn’t something you can accomplish while dividing your attention between them.”
Professor Birch’s words struck directly at Wally’s heart.
The knowledge required of a Junior Pokémon Breeder was still relatively basic.
But once one reached the Intermediate and Master levels, much of that knowledge could no longer be learned from books available on the market.
Even someone with Professor Birch’s status would have to expend considerable effort to acquire such knowledge.
It had taken Wally four years just to reach the Junior level.
Most of that time had been wasted searching for books.
Would things go so smoothly from here onward?
Becoming a top Pokémon Coordinator—or even a powerful Trainer—wasn’t something that could be accomplished merely by talking about it.
In the end, Wally looked at Professor Birch, wanting to hear what he had to say.
“That’s why I want to give you an opportunity.”
“But it won’t be free.”
“There are two choices here.”
“You can consider them part of your reward.”
Professor Birch believed in Wally’s potential, but he didn’t want the boy to have an easy path.
Only after enduring hardship could an unpolished piece of jade reveal the brilliance it was meant to possess.
And so, he decided to let Wally make the choice himself.