After the children briefly got to know each other, Meili said to Charlie, "Charlie, show Cole to his room while I prepare some things for him."
"Got it!" The kid replied playfully, "Big brother Cole, follow me!"
He hopped and skipped ahead to lead the way.
While Charlie chattered away cheerfully, Cole remained quiet due to the language barrier. When they reached the room, Charlie skillfully opened the door.
"Here it is! Lily and I cleaned this room ourselves!" He said proudly.
"Thank you." Cole said gratefully. He quickly scanned the room — it was clean and tidy. Though sparsely furnished, it had all the essentials, clearly prepared in advance.
After looking around, Charlie turned to Daisy with curiosity, "Big brother Cole, is this your Pokémon?"
Does Mom count as my Pokémon? I suppose so? Cole reluctantly nodded.
"This is the first time I've seen a Pokémon up close! So cool!" Charlie stared at the Gardevoir admiringly.
Though energetic by nature, he was well-behaved and didn't approach her rashly.
"Big brother Cole, why don't you talk much?"
Charlie asked curiously, noticing how Cole would only nod or shake his head without speaking, though he didn't seem unfriendly.
Just then, Meili walked in and happened to hear his question, "Your brother Cole hasn't had much contact with people before, so he hasn't learned how to speak properly yet. You and Lily should help teach him."
"Leave it to us!" Though Charlie found it strange that someone Cole's age hadn't learned to speak, he readily agreed, happy to help the Director.
Meili placed what she was carrying onto Cole's bed, "These clothes and daily necessities used to belong to Alfred. He doesn't need them anymore, and I noticed you didn't have much luggage, so I gathered them up."
"Thank you." Cole said gratefully. This was truly a lifesaver.
{T/N: You should have noted that he only says 'thank you' because its the only thing that he can say.}
Meili shook her head, "No need to thank me, they're just old things. I hope you don't mind. Our funding here is limited, so we can't always buy everything we'd like."
Cole nodded in understanding — even if the clothes were secondhand, they were better than wearing leaves like he did on the island.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
And so, he settled into Blue Bird Orphanage.
The children were all well-behaved and gave him a warm welcome.
At noon, he met two more children — Claire and Alfred.
Claire, who was usually accompanied by Lily, was an adorable little girl who resembled a delicate porcelain doll. According to Meili, she had throat problems and might never be able to speak.
Alfred was a slightly thin boy, a year older than Cole but of similar height. Though he had a somewhat reserved personality and spoke little, his manners were impeccable. He showed genuine kindness to the newcomer, even visiting Cole's room to greet him after returning from school.
To celebrate Cole's arrival, Meili prepared a special feast for lunch. Since the orphanage typically served modest meals, everyone was delighted by this rare treat. The innocent Paul even exclaimed, "I wish we could have a new big brother join us every day!"
His comment drew both smiles and sympathetic looks from the others. At that moment, Cole felt immensely relieved that the Gyarados hadn't followed him here.
With their limited resources, how could they possibly feed it!
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Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and Cole had fully adapted to life at Blue Bird Orphanage.
Though they weren't wealthy, life here was far better than on the island. Everyone got along harmoniously, and their simple lifestyle brought peace and serenity.
During this time, Officer Jenny and Captain Sanders visited him, bringing many daily necessities. Officer Jenny, knowing about Daisy, thoughtfully brought a jar of Pokémon food.
Though Poké Puffs were the main Pokémon food in the Kalos Region, they spoiled quickly, so Officer Jenny opted for the longer-lasting Pokémon food instead.
Seeing Cole well-adjusted to life at Blue Bird Orphanage, Officer Jenny and Captain Sanders departed with peace of mind.
During these months, Cole kept busy with various activities.
He helped Meili with housework daily, devoted his free time to learning the local language, and trained Daisy.
Charlie and the other children were invaluable in helping him learn the language. They patiently responded to his requests and gently corrected his pronunciation whenever needed.
Thanks to their help, Cole made remarkable progress in communication. He could now generally understand others without Daisy's translation, though he still struggled with speaking.
In Daisy's training, he made an important discovery through the Pokémon food Officer Jenny had brought.
He had previously learned that Pokémon naturally absorb Special Energy from the air, converting it into their own Source Energy.
{T/N: Special Energy is the energy in the world, outter; Source Energy is this same energy, but inside the Pokémon to use as it likes; Attribute Energy is another type of energy that resonates with the first one and used to element-based attacks. At least this is my general understanding of what the author means.}
After Daisy began eating the Pokémon food, Cole noticed it was far more efficient at increasing her Source Energy than natural absorption.
For faster improvement, she would need regular supplements of Pokémon food or Poké Puffs alongside her training.
But all of this required money — the very thing Cole lacked most.
To be honest, he hadn't yet decided what he wanted to do in this Pokémon world. Though such planning wasn't urgent for a typical eight-year-old child, Cole wasn't really eight — making his future plans early was essential.
However, regardless of his future career, he wouldn't give up on training Daisy.
This was partly for his own survival, but more importantly, she was his mother. He didn't want her to be weak, unable to protect herself or endure hardships.
In a world with creatures like Pokémon, true peace was rare — danger could appear at any moment.
Fortunately, his special ability proved highly effective. Through continuous purification and refinement, the Source Energy within the Gardevoir had improved significantly in both quality and purity, notably increasing her combat ability.
The only issue was her weak control over her own Source Energy.
This day, Cole decided to test his mom's combat ability, so he called out.
"Daisy, come out with me!"
The Gardevoir was watching TV with Lily and the others in the living room. When she heard Cole calling, she stood up reluctantly.
Television was a novelty for Daisy, who had just entered the human world. She had become completely absorbed in watching TV, finding even commercials fascinating.
Being called away at this moment felt as unpleasant as being woken up early by noise.
"Big brother Cole, are you going out?" Lily turned and asked.
Cole nodded, answering word by word, "Behind... forest... back before dinner."
"Oh, I'll tell Grandma Director. Be careful outside." Lily immediately understood his meaning.
And so, he left with Daisy.
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The forest Cole mentioned lay behind a hill not far from Blue Bird Orphanage. According to Alfred, Pokémon frequently appeared there, so Cole decided to test his luck.
After crossing the hill, he spotted a small forest nearby. He headed there with his mom and found several Spearow playing in the tree branches.
The Spearow showed no fear of humans. When they noticed the human and Gardevoir approaching, they watched curiously without flying away.
"Spearow, could I ask you something?" Cole asked carefully, not wanting to startle them.
"Ya-ku?" The nearest Spearow tilted its head in confusion.
Cole continued, "I'd like to request a battle between you and my Gardevoir."
He expected to need some convincing, but surprisingly, the little flying fellow proved quite battle-hungry and nodded immediately.
Finding an open space, Cole had the Spearow and Daisy take positions on opposite sides while he stood outside as referee, choosing not to direct his mom.
"If you're ready, let the battle begin!"
"Ya-ku~~~"
At Cole's signal, the excited Spearow launched its first attack, transforming into an impressive white light as it charged toward Daisy.
✲ Peck! ✲
In response, Daisy used her most proficient skill — Confusion, derived from her Psychic affinity. Her eyes flashed blue, and the charging Spearow froze mid-air.
✲ Confusion! ✲
{T/N: It is a Psychic attack that also have a chance of causing confusion.}
The island where Cole and Daisy had lived was relatively safe, with few Pokémon, so she had led a laid-back life. Consequently, her battle prowess was poor, and she knew few moves.
Through repeated verification and drawing from his previous life's knowledge of Pokémon, Cole knew a Gardevoir's moves included Confusion, Dazzling Gleam, Mystical Fire, and Heal Pulse. However, she could only use Confusion and Heal Pulse effectively.
She excelled at Psychic manipulation from picking fruits on the island, and her Heal Pulse was well-practiced from treating injured island Pokémon.
However, she had neglected the more powerful attacking moves — Dazzling Gleam and Mystical Fire — due to lack of use.
"Ya-ku~Ya-ku~Ya-ku~"
The restrained Spearow frantically flapped its wings, trying to break free from Confusion's hold, but was suddenly thrown aside.
Thud~
The Spearow slammed into a nearby tree and fainted instantly.
"Uh~" The poor thing was defeated so quickly that Cole hadn't even had time to react.
As a fully evolved Pokémon, Daisy's base stats naturally exceeded those of a Spearow. After months of training with his special ability, her strength surpassed that of a typical wild Pokémon — purely due to the level difference.
Cole approached the fallen Spearow, lifted it gently, and channeled his special ability's energy into its body. The Spearow soon awakened, looking content.
"Ya~ku~" — So~ comfortable~
"Spearow, are you alright?" Cole asked.
"Ya-ku~Ya-ku~Ya-ku~" — Fine, fine! More, give me more!
The Spearow bounced energetically on his palm.
While continuing to refine its source energy, Cole suggested, "Spearow, since Daisy might be too tough for you alone, why not bring your friends? You could all train against her together. Afterward, I'll help refine everyone's energy like this — what do you think?"
Again?
Daisy, watching nearby, was visibly displeased but remained silent.
Really now! I'm supposed to be the mother — Cole should be listening to me!
The old mother's family status was rather concerning.
"Ya-ku~Ya-ku~" — Sure, sure! Wait here, I'll be right back.
The Spearow agreed eagerly.
It returned promptly with about ten similarly-sized Spearow in tow.
These newcomers proved more cautious than the first. They insisted on experiencing the "special treatment" before agreeing to help, wanting proof of its effectiveness.
Fine, fine... Cole resigned himself — they weren't taking any chances.
As each Spearow received the "special treatment", the forest filled with waves of delighted cries. Anyone passing by might have misinterpreted the sounds as something quite inappropriate.
Having experienced the benefits firsthand, the Spearow readily agreed to become Cole's training partners.
Thus began Daisy's training against the Spearow group.
Since she relied too heavily on Confusion as her only attack, Cole insisted she practice Dazzling Gleam and Mystical Fire when surrounded by the Spearow, pushing her beyond her comfort with Psychic moves.
Despite Daisy's higher Level, she wasn't as skilled at using Moves as the Spearow. Having never faced multiple opponents at once, she quickly became overwhelmed and disheveled.
The Spearow, though battered, showed remarkable spirit — charging forward fearlessly even after taking repeated hits from the Gardevoir.
These Spearow proved to be incredibly dedicated training partners — willing to endure both hits and criticism, as long as they received their promised reward!
✲✲✲
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