Chapter 3: Honey trap

Seeing that I returned the hug, Mother Clarisse relaxed and told me in a much calmer tone: - Maybe you don't remember anything right now, but we have a lot of time so that little by little you know once again who you are and become the same again. as always, after all my little Max will be the director of the orphanage one day. -she said, holding a smile between emotion and happiness that touched my heart.

Which made it more difficult not to feel bad after looking into her eyes and saying with determination: - I'm sorry Clarisse, I already decided that I will be a Trainer.

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I won't say it was the most pleasant conversation I've ever had, but it seems like it only took an hour-long argument and the threat of running away anyway if I tried to stop so that Mother Clarisse would reluctantly accept my decision, she wasn't up for it. Not at all pleased, but he explained the basic concepts to start my career as a Trainer.

From what Clarisse explained to me, all children can start their Pokémon journey the moment they turn 10 years old, all they need is a small psychological exam and answering a few simple reading and basic math questions, apparently the level of education in this world is very low, most kids learn more about Pokémon and battle strategies than anything else.

Which makes me think that Clarisse was not exaggerating when she said that society literally revolved around Pokémon, basically the league sweetened the idea of ​​being a trainer a lot, they offered quite a few benefits to anyone who wanted to start their journey, from when you get your license As a trainer you can go to any local gym leader and get your first Pokémon, the Pokémon varies a lot depending on the area the gym is located in, but you didn't have to worry about them only handling one type of Pokémon since the gym leader captured enough Pokémon from the area to have variety and be able to offer you something that suits your tastes, only of course everything is subject to availability and any Pokémon they give you would only be at level 5.

As if this were not all, the league gave you a beginner's kit that included 10 pokeballs, 5 potions, 3 Rage Candy Bar (courtesy of the almost 10-year Johto-Kanto champion Lance Wataru), an escape rope and a juicy fund of $2,000 Pokedolars per month for your entire first year as a trainer.

The money would have been little to me if it weren't for the fact that lodging services, food, basic food for Pokémon, the PC to store and care for Pokémon that you don't have in your team at the moment, and medical services are completely free for any Pokémon. Center and these are found in any human population, even if it is sparsely populated.

Something piqued my curiosity so I asked Mother Clarisse: Those $2,000 Pokedolars a month sound pretty good but I imagine the cost for special foods and equippable items for the Pokemon must be very expensive, how else can the Trainers get money? .-

Mother Clarisse, still sulking about my decision, pinched my cheek and said in an exasperated tone: - You don't even know that and you want to be a Trainer? Oh god, everything would be easier if I had convinced you to be the director of the orphanage, listen Max, Trainers make money in many ways, if you manage to succeed as a trainer and win the Indigo Plateau you can apply to challenge the Elite four and later the champion or in that case stay as an Elite Trainer and receive a good fixed salary, you can also earn money by betting against other Trainers by winning battles, finding rare objects in nature, doing pokemon search missions for other trainers or future trainers and winning official battles against gym leaders, in local tournaments and on the Indigo Plateau.-

After rubbing my cheek when I felt that Mother Clarisse was about to rip it off, I was very surprised to find out how profitable the Trainers business was, the league really knew how to tempt young people with the idea of ​​a bright future, they made you On a silver platter the opportunity to rise to the top even if you don't come from an important family, it seems that they put special effort into ensuring that low-income children had the same opportunities as children from wealthy families.

- I can really succeed here. – I said unconsciously in a low voice while a smile formed on my face, which did not go unnoticed by Mother Clarisse who put on a sad smile and said: - That is exactly why I have always thought that the minimum age for Trainers should be not even 15 years, tell me Max, doesn't it seem strange to you that a government can remain stable even while granting those benefits to the thousands of children who go out every year on their own Pokemon trip?

After she told me that way she made me analyze her words but I quickly refuted and told her: - Well, if we think that Trainers are literally the defense against wild Pokemon, possible soldiers in case of war and even entertainment stars for the people it really seems like a good deal to me.- to which Mother Clarisse only slowly shook her head:- Max, it's a honey trap, the league can offer all those benefits because they are aware of the success rates of the coaches , think about it, they put ideas of status, power, wealth into children's heads and give them at their fingertips the necessary tools so that they go headlong into the outside world without even analyzing that the survival rate of the Trainers rookies is less than 40%.-

Her words left me cold, I myself was saying that Trainers can be soldiers or defend towns from wild Pokemon and death never crossed my mind, I saw so many anime where the protagonist and his friends got into so much trouble but They always ended up safe and sound that I thought things would be the same in this world.

Analyzing it logically, Mother Clarisse is right, in my world it was dangerous for a child to be on the street late at night, now imagine a child traveling across an entire country, camping for several nights in the open and with monsters that They can literally break mountains with their power.

Yes, it all sounded very logical, but I still refused to believe that things were so harsh, there is television and many media in this world from what Mother Clarisse told me, if things were so horrible the media They would be overwhelmed with calls for help from parents looking for their children, so perhaps Mother Clarisse's words were just her last attempt to keep me in the orphanage.

Seeing me hesitate, Mother Clarisse took advantage and unleashed her last argument like a jab straight to my face: Even if almost 40% of the Trainers who begin their journey survive, 30% give up after the fifth or sixth medal due to the difficulty of the challenge. and of the remaining 10%, only 2% manage to become Elite Trainers, imagine, the difficulty is so high that the Elite four only changes when a member retires and recommends his replacement and not to mention the Champion, usually the position Champion has not moved in decades, the current Champion Lance Wataru is an exception, he is only Champion because he defeated the Elite four a few days before the previous champion died in an accident before being able to challenge him.-

-Before Lance, the previous Champion Jonathan Jones held the position of Champion for five years only after defeating the 30-year-old undefeated Samuel Oak.- Mother Clarisse said as she put a hand on my shoulder:- Max I know you, even without memory, even confused, you are not going to settle if you don't reach the top, I have watched you all these years, even with all your jokes and childish attitudes you are the last to sleep for studying late into the night, maybe you could have fooled your classmates from the orphanage, but I see something in you that perhaps you yourself have not noticed, you have a heart full of determination and if you do not become Champion you will never be able to forgive yourself.-

I can't deny it, even if I'm not the person who knew her words reached me, I felt the love that this person felt for Maxwell and as an adult I really understood what it must be like for her to have the child who is almost like her son risk his life with an ideal that is practically impossible.

But I can't give him pleasure, not after what I've experienced, not after all those years of frustration for not being able to achieve my dreams, I don't know what strength it brought me, but I owe it to this poor child who was left without a future because Give myself a second chance, I must reach the top, I must reach the impossible, I have many opportunities to achieve it, with my knowledge and my determination I can become Champion and prove to myself that I am not here for nothing.

Swallowing and gathering the courage to speak, I took Mother Clarisse's hand and told her: -One year, if I don't manage to be crowned Champion in one year, I will return to the orphanage and dedicate my life to becoming the director of this place.