Chapter 52: Repaying a favor
“Um… Mr. Issac, hello, I am Terrance,” Terrance said.
“As for the matter of enrolling in Crown Academy, I have a recommender, so I should be considered a ‘transfer student,’?” Terrance thought for a moment and said.
Transfer student.
Issac looked at the young man with suspicion. It was rare for Crown Academy to have transfer students. Each student’s spot was highly valuable. Besides families willing to pay, only individuals who had made significant contributions to the academy such as professors, researchers, teachers or members of the administration had the qualification.
It was generally impossible for an ordinary person to transfer after the enrollment date at a place like Crown Academy.
“Well, I’ll believe you then.” Issac said casually, turning his head. “Candice, do you now realize your shortcomings? Right now, you are still too young to inherit Snowpoint Gym!”
“What?! Next time I will definitely win, and sooner or later, I will defeat you and become the Gym Trainer!” Candice glared back, refusing to back down.
Terrance watched the father and daughter with disinterest and started observing outside the window.
Several little boys and girls were playing together with Pokémon in the courtyard, having a great time.
“Mr. Issac… Why do you want to invest in a Pokémon Trainer’s School?” Terrance looked at the children outside, feeling emotional. When he was in Fallarbor Town, the children there didn’t have such treatment. They didn’t just get to spend time with various Pokémon but also had the chance to acquire fundamental Trainer knowledge. This kind of educational exposure was truly vital for young kids.
Interrupting the squabble between the father and daughter, Terrance’s question caught their attention.
“Of course, it is to have everyone understand Pokémon better and become friends with them,” Candice casually replied.
Mr. Isaac looked at Terrance with a hint of surprise. The intention behind this question… For a moment, he didn’t know what answer Terrance was seeking from him.
When he met Brock in Lilycove City, he realized that the current timeline was much earlier than the beginning of the plot. The modernization was not evident in most places yet. Although the requirements to become a Trainer had been lowered, it hadn’t reached every household yet or gained everyone’s attention.
In other words, most Trainers at this time weren’t “valuable.”
Except for a few elites, most of them were just following their dreams.
In such a situation, Mr. Isaac’s willingness to personally fund a place for the children of Snowpoint City to learn about Trainers and Pokémon reflects an exceptionally noble mindset.
“Candice is right. I just hope that humans and Pokémon can coexist peacefully through this bond of Trainers,” Issac observed Terrance’s expression, but he couldn’t discern anything.
“I see,” Terrance nodded.
“Terrance, right? I still have one more day off. How about we leave early tomorrow morning?” Issac suggested.
“…” Terrance.
…
…
Fortunately, Terrance was persuaded to stay and didn’t have to search for accommodation on his own. As dinner time arrived, Terrance shamelessly adhered to his “if you can freeload, then freeload” principle and spent the night peacefully.
The next morning, Mr. Issac drove his personal car and set off with Terrance.
“Dad, be careful on the way~ And Terrance, don’t slack off on training. Let’s have an all-out battle next time!” Candice waved at them. The car started with a buzzing sound, emitting a puff of smoke as it quickly sped away from the city.
There was a small road created by humans from Snowpoint City to Crown Academy that could barely let a car pass. Perhaps due to the noise it made, they rarely encountered wild Pokémon along the way, making the journey smooth.
After about an hour…
Mr. Issac parked the car by the roadside.
“Let’s get off. From here on, we have to walk. There’s no road that can be traversed by vehicles in this direction.”
Terrance was quite surprised… He thought he could just relax and reach the destination without any effort, but in the end, they still had to walk…
“Is it okay to leave the car here? What if a mischievous Pokémon causes trouble…”
“It’s fine. Take a look over there,” Mr. Issac pointed into the distance. Terrance followed his gaze and saw a Pokémon standing on the side of the mountain, covered in white fur, with a horn-like thing resembling a sickle on its head. It was looking down at them from high above.
“Disaster Pokémon, Absol—” Terrance exclaimed in astonishment.
“Not bad, you actually know about Absol and didn’t even used the Pokédex. No wonder you were able to defeat Candice. That makes you much stronger than a rookie Trainer,” Mr. Issac said. “That child lives nearby. If there’s an avalanche on a snowy day, it will be the first to notify people passing by.”
“With its help watching over the car, there’s no problem,” Mr. Issac gestured towards Absol and led Terrance to continue towards Mt. Coronet.
Without a flat road, walking became even more difficult.
“That Absol, is it Mr. Issac’s Pokémon?” On the way, Terrance remembered the Absol from earlier. It seemed to have an extraordinary bond with Mr. Issac.
“Hehe, not exactly,” Mr. Issac shook his head. “When I was young, that Absol saved me. It was also then that I aspired to become a Trainer.”
Terrance remained silent, clearly waiting for him to finish.
“But at that time, Snowpoint City was still very poor, and due to its proximity to Mt. Coronet, the weather was harsh. Very few wealthy people were willing to come here to develop this place.”
“So how did you become a teacher at Crown Academy?” Terrance suddenly had a question.
“Become a teacher…”
“No, I should say I became a student. I’ve also graduated from Crown Academy. At that time, in order to become a Trainer, I had no way out due to my family’s circumstances. When I heard about the existence of such an educational institution on Mt. Coronet, I thought of going there to study.”
“I had to put in a lot of effort to enter Crown Academy at that time. If it wasn’t for my kind-hearted teacher who saw me, a child, making the journey all the way there… I probably wouldn’t have had the qualification to enter Crown Academy.”
Saying that, he sighed, “After graduating from Crown Academy, I became an excellent Trainer as others would say, and it changed my life. But people like me are too few. Most people end up fading away in reality.”
“So, is that the real purpose behind your investment in the Pokémon Trainer’s School?” Terrance’s eyes flashed with surprise as he looked at him
“Well, you could say that. After graduating from the academy, I applied for Gym qualification from the Pokémon League and established Snowpoint Gym. Snowpoint City gradually developed as a result. Moreover, in recent years, the number of Trainers has increased significantly, and even in this remote city, there’s a growing presence of people.”
“Moreover, Snowpoint City is close to Mt. Coronet, and Trainers also like to come here to capture powerful Pokémon…”
Leading Terrance, a transfer student from Crown Academy, Issac couldn’t fathom the emotions he must be feeling knowing that he would soon enter the academy.
But in order to become a student of Crown Academy, he pushed himself to the limits and, with a stroke of luck, managed to change his own fate.
Crown Academy held an indelible emotional significance for Mr. Issac. So even after applying to become a Gym Leader after graduating, he still returned to the academy to become a teacher, continuing to educate the next generation of Trainers.
Also, due to the remote and cold nature of Snowpoint City, it allowed Mr. Issac to handle both the roles of a teacher and a Gym Leader.
You can read ahead upto 10 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!