The first day of school was uneventful — just students chatting and picking up textbooks. Since teachers didn't hold proper classes, the day passed casually.
When Cole got home, Chikorita bounded out from the courtyard and leaped into his arms, acting spoiled.
"Chiko~ Chiko~" — Why did you come back so late? I missed you so much...
It nuzzled affectionately in his arms.
Since it was the first day of school registration, Cole had worried the Pokémon would get bored if he brought them along, so he had them all stay at home. He hadn't even returned for lunch.
This was Chikorita's first extended separation from Cole since coming to live with him. It had spent the day restless and anxious, repeatedly running to the gate to check for his return.
Cole stroked its back and said, "Alright, I'll take you with me tomorrow."
"Chiko~" — Really?
Chikorita looked up at him with sparkling eyes, a tear still hanging in the corner.
"Really, I promise," Cole assured.
"Chiko~ rita~" — Okay then, you must take me with you tomorrow.
It shyly climbed down from his arms.
After greeting his Pokémon, Cole went to his room and turned on his computer to search for a high-quality Sun Stone.
With Helioptile's hidden energy circuits nearly fully activated, he wanted to ensure the evolution stone would be ready when needed.
Chikorita followed closely behind him into the room. While Cole worked at the computer, it sat quietly beside him, watching.
Cole logged into an official trading platform created by the Pokémon League that offered secure item and information trading between trainers.
He spent considerable time searching the evolution items section. Though Sun Stones were plentiful, their quality was mediocre. He couldn't bear to let his Helioptile evolve using such inferior stones.
Cole had posted a bounty for high-quality evolution stones on the platform several days ago, but it had sunk like a stone in the sea — barely anyone responded, and those who commented merely talked nonsense.
The main issue was his strict quality requirements. Even those who possessed such high-quality stones were unwilling to part with them.
After checking his bounty post again and finding no replies, Cole took out a Water Stone, photographed it, and uploaded it to the platform, hoping to arrange an item-for-item trade.
He had received six high-quality Water Stones from the Legendary Bird trio in total. He had given one each to Lysandre and Diantha, sold one to Ramos, and currently had three remaining.
Cole specified the Water Stone's exact quality in the trade listing, adding that he wanted to exchange it for a Sun Stone of equal quality.
His trade listing received immediate responses, likely due to the Water Stone's eye-catching photo.
| Is your Water Stone's quality really the same as in the photo? |
Messaged a trainer with a Spheal avatar.
Cole replied:
| The photo is of the actual item, guaranteed authentic! |
After a while, the Spheal avatar messaged again:
| I have a Thunder Stone that's just slightly lower quality, would you trade for that? |
Cole thought: 'You must be dreaming!'
| Only looking for Sun Stones, thank you. |
He politely declined.
But the Spheal trainer persisted:
| My Thunder Stone really is only slightly lower quality than your Water Stone. Maybe someone would trade a Sun Stone for the Thunder Stone? |
Cole found the message rather amusing, but before he could reply, another person inquired about the Water Stone.
This time it was a trainer with a Kingdra avatar:
| I don't have a Sun Stone, but I have a Leaf Stone of equal quality. Would you be willing to trade? |
Cole replied:
| Sorry, I'm only looking for Sun Stones. |
Unlike the first trader, this one didn't persist:
| Alright then, I'll ask around about Sun Stones and contact you later if I find any leads. |
Cole finished his conversation with Kingdra, and seeing that the Spheal trainer was still flooding him with messages about the Thunder Stone trade, he simply blocked them.
Next, a trainer with a blue, chubby avatar inquired about his Water Stone. They also didn't have a Sun Stone, instead asking if they could trade a Dusk Stone.
Of course, Cole refused.
He spent over an hour at his computer as messages poured in about the Water Stone trade. None of the traders had a Sun Stone of equal quality — they either offered other evolution stones, tried to negotiate unfair deals, or attempted to buy the stone with money.
That was absolutely out of the question! If he couldn't purchase Sun Stones with money, others certainly couldn't buy his Water Stone that way either.
When Daisy came to call him for breakfast, he finally turned off his computer.
As he was about to stand, he glanced down to find Chikorita gazing up at him.
Cole asked in surprise, "Have you been here the whole time?"
"Chiko~ Chiko~" — Yes, yes.
It walked to his side and affectionately nuzzled his leg with its small head.
Cole bent down to pick it up and said, "Why are you keeping me company here? I get too busy to pay attention to you."
Chikorita looked straight up at him with an expression that said 'I don't understand what you're talking about'.
Cole said helplessly, "Alright, let's go have dinner."
"Chiko~ Chiko~" — Dinner! Dinner!
Chikorita cheered, wiggling around in his arms.
After dinner, Cole gave his Pokémon and his mom a thorough grooming session. With only Brionne, Helioptile, Larvitar, Chikorita, and Daisy to tend to, he finished quickly.
Back in his room, he logged into the trading platform again and was surprised to find over 99+ private messages waiting.
As Cole sifted through them one by one, most proved useless. However, a message from someone with a Blastoise avatar caught his attention.
They claimed to have a Dawn Stone of superior quality to his Water Stone and asked if he'd consider a trade. They included a photo as proof.
When Cole opened the image, he saw an impressive Dawn Stone — bluish-green with crystalline transparency that surpassed even a gemstone's beauty. From the photo, its quality did appear slightly higher than his Water Stone.
Unfortunately, he had no need for a Dawn Stone.
Like the Spheal trainer, this person kept sending persistent messages trying to convince him to trade, despite Cole's polite refusal.
Just as Cole was about to block them, he took another look at the Dawn Stone photo and noticed something odd. After studying and enlarging the image, he spotted traces of a watermark.
This discovery suggested the Blastoise trainer had stolen the photo from someone else — why else remove the watermark? They were likely planning to scam him out of his Water Stone.
Their poor technical skills had left the watermark partially visible.
Cole not only blocked them but also submitted a report. Even if they weren't a scammer, he didn't feel guilty — that's what they deserved for being so pushy.
After handling that situation, he continued browsing messages when the Kingdra trainer from earlier contacted him again.
They explained that their elder relative had a Sun Stone of equal quality but needed a Dusk Stone rather than a Water Stone.
Cole quickly found his previous conversation with the trainer who had the blue chubby avatar and owned a Dusk Stone. He immediately messaged them about the potential trade and explained about the trainer with the Sun Stone.
Since this would be a three-way trade, Cole made sure to explain everything clearly upfront.
The trainer with the chubby avatar agreed, so Cole reached out to the Kingdra trainer again.
Shortly after, the Kingdra trainer shared their elder relative's account, which had a Dragonite avatar. Cole added them as a friend without any issues.
After discussing the details, Cole, Chubby, and Dragonite signed a platform-drafted trade agreement requiring real-name verification. The agreement ensured that if anything went wrong, the responsible party would be held accountable by the platform.
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The next day, Cole brought Chikorita to school as promised.
When he asked if any other Pokémon wanted to join them, Helioptile and Brionne declined, preferring to stay home and train — they found school too boring.
Daisy also wanted to stay home, and only Larvitar showed interest, so Cole took both it and Chikorita with him.
Since Larvitar was too eye-catching and Cole wished to avoid attention, he had to keep it in its Poké Ball. The little one didn't mind, happily occupied with licking the silver ore Cole had given it that morning.
Yes, licking rather than biting. The silver ore was small, and Larvitar wanted to savor it, so it simply held the piece and gave it occasional licks. By departure time, the ore gleamed from all its attention.
Even after entering the Poké Ball, Larvitar continued enjoying its silver treat.
Chikorita remained outside, bouncing along behind Cole and skipping to school while humming a cheerful tune. Though it had learned the song from Brionne, its voice wasn't quite as melodious, creating an unusual sound.
This odd singing completely derailed Cole's plan to remain inconspicuous. Passing students couldn't help but notice Chikorita's enthusiastic performance, and by extension, its trainer became the center of attention.
When Chikorita noticed all the eyes on it, rather than shrinking away, it sang even more energetically, assuming everyone was watching because they enjoyed its performance.
Cole could only walk to class with his head down, unable to discourage the little leaf's innocent spirit. He silently endured the intense stares from his fellow students.
Walking to his seat and sitting down, he picked up Chikorita and placed it on the desk.
Soon after, Daniel arrived and was delighted to see Chikorita, striding eagerly to Cole's desk.
"Cole, you've caught a new Pokémon too! And it's a Chikorita — nice!" As he spoke, he released his Bounsweet.
Cole hadn't expected his Chikorita to get along so well with Daniel's Bounsweet — they became fast friends, and little leaf immediately offered it a grand gift.
What was the gift? Why, the leaf from its head, of course!
When Chikorita's head leaf suddenly broke off, it nearly scared Bounsweet half to death. The tiny Pokémon only relaxed once the leaf grew back.
Cole patted its head helplessly and said, "Didn't I tell you not to keep giving away your leaves as gifts?"
However, Chikorita was too busy playing with Bounsweet to pay any attention to his words.
Its leaf had a rich, fragrant smell that Bounsweet really liked, so it imperiously commanded Daniel to keep it safe.
Yes, commanded — and quite fierce at that.
Bounsweet's attitude toward him was identical to Furfrou's — its tiny cute face wearing an arrogant expression that he simply couldn't resist.
Cole had been wondering why Daniel had suddenly changed his affections, but it turned out his peculiar preferences hadn't changed at all.
Unlike Furfrou, though, Bounsweet was fairly friendly toward other people and Pokémon, in contrast to the big dog who remained aloof with everyone and maintained a superior attitude.
Chikorita and Bounsweet truly got along well, and because they were having so much fun, both Pokémon unconsciously released a sweet fragrance that lingered even when the teacher entered.
Cole's homeroom teacher, Ms. Sarah, was a very skilled Pokémon breeder who knew everything about various Pokémon.
As soon as she entered the classroom, she caught the wafting fragrance and gently sniffed.
"Is this... Bounsweet's scent? No…" She corrected herself, "There's also a hint of Chikorita's scent mixed in..."
Walking toward the podium, she asked.
"Are there any students here who have caught a Bounsweet or Chikorita?"
The students immediately turned toward Cole and Daniel. Right on cue, Chikorita and Bounsweet chirped in response.
Sarah smiled, "Since we're already discussing Chikorita and Bounsweet, let's spend today's lesson learning about these two Pokémon. Students, I'm sure you've all heard of incense items..."
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