This was Cole's first time truly leaving Coumarine City.
Though he had visited the Sea Spirit's Den before, it lay in the waters near Coumarine and remained within city limits — so this was his first real venture beyond.
Omura proved incredibly thoughtful. Not only did he purchase the boy's plane tickets and arrange accommodation, but he insisted on covering all expenses.
Cole wasn't short on money and offered to reimburse his teacher, but Omura firmly declined. He felt that, as a teacher, he had a duty to look after his students — especially one who was only twelve. Cole had no choice but to accept the kindness, knowing he'd find ways to repay it in the future.
Lumiose wasn't far from Coumarine, connected by Route 13. By car, the journey took less than a day.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
They arrived in Lumiose City after an hour's flight.
The city differed from the metropolis in Cole's memory, as it still lacked its signature landmark — the Prism Tower, also known as the Lumiose Gym.
Instead, the Lumiose Museum stood as the city's crown jewel, embodying its reputation as a metropolis where technology and art flourished side by side.
Omura had pre-booked their hotel, so they headed there directly after landing.
Though modest in appearance, the small establishment offered comfortable rooms and attentive service — perfect for their needs.
After settling in, Omura mentioned he needed to visit a friend and asked Cole to wait at the hotel. Then he hurried off.
Rather than stay cooped up in the hotel, Cole decided to explore. It would be a waste to come all this way without seeing the sights, so he left a message at reception and set out with Daisy, Brianne, Helioptile, and Baby Larvitar.
Lumiose was a masterpiece of urban planning, its modern design centered around several avenues that connected to Centrico Plaza, creating a network of smaller plazas throughout.
The avenues bore seasonal names — Vernal, Estival, Autumnal, and Hibernal. Two main thoroughfares, the North and South Boulevards, cut across these four avenues.
The plazas carried color names — Bleu, Vert, Jaune, Rouge, and Magenta. Bleu, Vert, and Magenta occupied the South Boulevard, while the remaining two sat along the North Boulevard.
Surrounding these plazas sprawled a vibrant mix of shopping streets, tourist spots, residential areas, and landmarks, all fueling Lumiose's booming tourism industry.
Their hotel stood near Rouge Plaza, an area bustling with cafés, restaurants, and juice bars. Cole treated his Pokémon to colorful drinks at a juice stand.
"Let's see how these compare to our homemade berry juice." He said to his companions.
Gulp gulp~
Daisy took a big sip, then smacked her lips.
"Gar~ Garde~" — Hmm~ the taste is a bit weak, not very good.
She preferred sweet things — anything too bland was simply tasteless to her.
Brianne also took a big sip after hearing this and found it acceptable.
When it was Baby Larvitar's turn, it took a small sip, and its little face immediately scrunched up.
"Yow~" — It's terrible!
Though everyone had different juice flavors, and varied reactions were normal, Cole wondered if it could really be that bad — after all, this was a proper business!
"Let me try it, is it really that bad?" Cole asked.
Larvitar handed over its juice without hesitation. And he, not minding that the little one had already sipped from it, raised the drink to his lips.
Suddenly, an unidentified object plummeted from above, striking the juice from his hand. The beverage splashed everywhere as a dark figure crashed heavily to the ground.
"Meow~"
With a pained cry, the shadow leaped up and darted away.
Before Cole could react, two red figures descended from above, paused briefly beside him, then shot off in pursuit.
"Stop! Don't run!"
The black shadow that had knocked over his juice turned out to be a Purrloin. Its pursuers were someone in a red cloak and strange mask, accompanied by a Blaziken radiating intense heat.
"These days, people really dare to wear anything in public!" Cole said helplessly.
How could anyone not feel embarrassed running around in red like that?
After cleaning up the spilled juice while muttering to himself, he left with his Pokémon. The culprit had fled too quickly to pursue — there was no point dwelling on it now.
"I'll treat you all to something delicious instead! Lumiose City is famous for its great food!" he suggested as they walked.
"Garde~"
"Brion~"
...
His suggestion met with unanimous approval, and everyone happily continued their exploration of the streets.
"Look, that restaurant ahead seems promising. Should we try it?" Cole said, pointing to an establishment mentioned in the city tourist guide.
"Garde~" — Yes, yes!
The Pokémon didn't know which restaurants in Lumiose were famous, so they happily followed his lead.
As they approached the restaurant, a girl in a light yellow dress walked past Cole, suddenly grabbing his arm.
She appeared quite young — not even ten years old. Cole hadn't noticed her at first until she grabbed him.
Hmm? Does the Pokémon world have scammers too?
Cole looked puzzled at the delicate-looking girl and asked, "What's wrong, little sister? Are you lost?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "Do you take me for an idiot? As if I would get lost!"
Her response was jarring — while she looked adorable, her tone was remarkably haughty.
"Then why did you grab me, little sister? Do we know each other?" Cole asked.
"No." The girl said expressionlessly.
"Then—"
Before he could finish, she cut in, "Are you a Psychic?"
"Huh?" Cole was completely puzzled.
Where did you get the idea that I'm a psychic? I didn't even know about this myself.
"Little sister, if you don't have anything else, you should find your parents. Big brother has things to do." He said with a smile, not wanting to humor what seemed like nonsense.
The girl's face flashed with anger, "You really are treating me like an idiot, aren't you? And I'm 11 years old, probably not much younger than you."
11 years old? Cole stared in surprise at the tiny girl before him, finding it hard to believe.
Though only a year younger than him, she barely reached his shoulder. Usually at their age, boys and girls were similar in height — some girls even taller than boys. But this girl was exceptionally short.
"Miss, I'm not treating you like an idiot. I just misunderstood because of your height." He explained helplessly.
The girl knew she wasn't tall. After a brief pout, she moved past it and pressed on, "You still haven't answered my question!"
"What question? Whether I'm a Psychic?" Cole said, developing a headache, "Please, miss, I'm really not a Psychic!"
The girl shook her head firmly, "That's impossible. I can't be wrong about this. I can sense the Psychic Energy that's unique to Psychics coming from you."
Psychics were rare, and encountering another one was unusual. Having found one on the street today, the little girl refused to let go.
{T/N: Psychic is a Trainer class, primarily using Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon. Additionally, they seem to possess these power-like qualities themselves, such as levitation abilities and that sort of thing.}
Just as Cole was about to argue, a luxury car pulled up beside them.
The window rolled down smoothly, and a red-haired young man peered out, asking suprised, "Cole, Caitlin, why are you two together?"
"Lysandre!"
"Uncle Lysandre!"
Cole and the little girl exclaimed in unison.
The young man in the car was Lysandre, who had adventured with him in the Sea Spirit's Den.
But wait — what had he called the little girl? Caitlin? Could it be? Was this little girl the future Caitlin who would become one of the Elite Four of the Unova Region?
Petite figure, adorable face, golden hair, and obsessed with psychic powers... everything matched!
"What a coincidence meeting you two here." Lysandre said with a smile, "Why don't we find a place to sit and chat? It's rare to run into each other."
"Sure." Cole nodded, and Caitlin didn't object.
"Then get in." Lysandre gestured.
After they climbed in, he noticed the Larvitar in Cole's arms.
"Is this Larvitar the one that hatched from the egg the legendary birds gave you?"
"That's right, this little one." Cole nodded.
Larvitar looked bewildered, glancing between him and Lysandre, having no idea what they were talking about.
Equally confused was Caitlin in the back seat. What legendary birds? Were they the ones she knew about? Though curious, she held her questions.
Cole turned to Lysandre, "Are you well acquainted with Miss Caitlin?"
Lysandre smiled, "I'm business partners with her parents. That's actually why I'm in Lumiose City — to discuss some business matters with them."
He glanced back at Caitlin.
"Caitlin, did you come to the Kalos Region with your parents this time?"
Caitlin nodded, "Yes, I was just taking a walk since I had nothing to do, and unexpectedly ran into Uncle Lysandre."
"I see... By the way, Cole, do you have business in Lumiose? If you need any help, just let me know!" Lysandre said enthusiastically.
"There's going to be a Berry Exhibition Convention soon. I'm here to participate in that event." Cole explained.
"Oh, that event!" Lysandre's eyes lit up with recognition, "I was planning to attend too!"
Though he wasn't exhibiting any berries himself, he hoped to meet talented cultivators and possibly invest in Berry cultivation.
The idea had actually stemmed from Cole. Lysandre admired the young man's capability and loyalty, so when he heard about the Lumiose event, he immediately thought of Cole's involvement in berry cultivation.
That's what had prompted him to attend.
"What a coincidence! You'll have to visit my exhibition booth — I'll let you taste the berries I've cultivated!" Cole said happily, "Last time you and Diantha left in such a hurry, I didn't get a chance to properly host you!"
"It's a deal then!" Lysandre agreed readily.
As they chatted, the conversation drifted back to Cole and Caitlin.
"I saw you two arguing on the street earlier. Was there some misunderstanding?" He asked curiously.
Cole sighed, "Miss Caitlin keeps insisting that I'm a Psychic, but I'm not!"
"I can't be wrong about this." Caitlin said, her face stern.
Lysandre pondered for a moment, "Caitlin's family comes from a lineage of Psychics. Theoretically, she shouldn't be able to sense wrongly..."
This really confused Cole. He understood what was being said, but he knew he wasn't a Psychic! Could he actually have some hidden ability? Surely the power that brought him here couldn't be that generous?
Caitlin suddenly spoke up, "If you don't believe me, give me your hand. I'll prove it to you!"
Cole extended his right hand, and she grasped it firmly.
The little girl closed her eyes gently as a faint purple light enveloped her body, making her hair and clothes drift weightlessly in the ethereal glow.
The purple light flowed from their joined hands to his body. A sudden dizziness overcame him as something burst in his mind — like fireworks — sending spirals of purple mist swirling through his consciousness.
Within that mist, Cole glimpsed Lugia's silhouette.
✲✲✲
T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!
For just $1.50 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1305384