Still dazed from the competition, Cole followed a young lady to the backstage area.
"Please wait here, sir. Your prize will be delivered shortly." She said gently, showing him into a room and preparing tea.
"Alright." Cole nodded.
Just then, his phone buzzed with a notification. Checking it, he saw that his competition deposit had been returned.
He maintained two storage accounts. The first, which he managed himself, held modest funds for daily expenses. The second, overseen by his mom Daisy, contained the bulk of his assets — she was truly the financial authority in their household.
The arena's staff worked with impressive efficiency. No sooner had he pocketed his phone than a middle-aged man in a butler's tailcoat entered the room.
Behind him, another staff member carried an exquisite wooden box containing Cole's prize — the Shiny Stone.
At the butler's signal, his assistant respectfully placed the wooden box on the table.
"Esteemed guest, this is your prize from today's competition. Please verify it." The butler said with a smile.
Cole nodded and carefully opened the box. Inside lay a pristine light yellow gemstone, pure and transparent, emanating a dazzling light.
It was indeed the Shiny Stone.
After examining the stone thoroughly, he placed it back in the box and looked up at the butler.
"This is indeed the prize I wanted. Thank you for your trouble, sir."
The butler replied with a warm smile, "It's my duty. I'm glad you're satisfied. By the way, please confirm that the deposit has been returned to your account?"
Cole nodded.
The butler bowed slightly. "Excellent. Our service concludes here. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask any of our staff."
A young lady then escorted Cole back to the VIP room.
Seeing him return, Lysandre stood up with a smile, "Congratulations on getting what you wanted!"
Cole feigned relief, "Thankfully I didn't lose — that was 6 million at stake!"
Just then, both Daisy and Lysandre's phones chimed with notifications. They checked their messages to find that each had received P$100,000,000.
Since Daisy had placed her main bet on the third match, and Cole's two consecutive wins had significantly reduced the odds, their return was over 30 million less than Lysandre's in the overall, despite betting the same total amount.
The human and Pokémon exchanged knowing smiles.
"Huh? What are you two smiling about?" Cole asked, puzzled.
Though both storage accounts were in his name, one had always been managed by Daisy, with her phone number registered to receive notifications. Cole remained unaware that his mother had just made a fortune using his money.
When it came to financial opportunities, Cole clearly wasn't as shrewd as Lysandre — otherwise, he might have thought to bet on himself earlier.
"Garde~ Garde~ Garde~" — Nothing, nothing, we're just happy you won the match. Should we head back now?
Daisy smiled, taking his arm affectionately, keeping the windfall to herself.
Cole turned to Lysandre, "It's getting late, should we head back?"
Lysandre checked the time and nodded, "Alright, let's go back then."
And so, blissfully unaware of his newfound wealth, Cole returned to the villa district with them.
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After returning to the villa, Cole immediately checked on the little Dunsparce, who lay in front of the computer, tapping the screen with its little tail while browsing through various image files.
Noticing its swollen eyes from staring at the screen, Cole rushed over and pulled it away.
"Have you been looking at this all day?"
Dunsparce nodded wearily.
Cole patted its forehead and said gently, "There's no need to rush. Your hometown isn't going anywhere — as long as we have clues, we'll find it sooner or later!"
Dunsparce lay listlessly on the ground.
Cole asked, "Have you eaten dinner?"
It shook its head.
"Let's get some food first, then rest. We can continue searching tomorrow."
With that, Cole gently pulled Dunsparce by the tail to get something to eat.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Meanwhile, Piers had been anxiously waiting for Cole's call since the competition ended. His phone remained stubbornly silent.
He bitterly regretted giving Cole his contact information without asking for his in return.
Late into the night, Piers tossed and turned in bed, repeatedly checking his phone — but no call came.
In reality, Cole had completely forgotten about the matter.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
The next day, Lysandre had business to attend to, so Cole spent the day alone in the villa, practicing his Psychic Powers and training with his Pokémon.
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
On the afternoon of their third day in Wyndon, it was finally time for the auction. After lunch, Cole set out for the venue with Daisy and Lysandre.
This was an exclusive, high-level auction — one needed an invitation just to participate.
The venue wasn't in downtown Wyndon but at a private club in the suburbs. The club's ownership remained a mystery.
Upon entering, Cole immediately noticed this wasn't a place that welcomed casual visitors. Though secluded, the environment was pristine, with state-of-the-art security facilities.
For the auction's protection, trainers and their Pokémon stood guard at regular intervals. Their piercing gazes scrutinized everything, ready to prevent any disruption.
Teams of guards and Pokémon also patrolled the corridors and halls — there were no blind spots.
Unable to look around openly, Cole relied on his peripheral vision.
His Psychic Powers revealed hidden security measures: invisible Kecleon on the ceiling and cleverly concealed surveillance cameras.
He also spotted numerous TV-famous personalities, many of whom approached Lysandre with warm greetings.
Cole, they largely ignored. At most, they'd ask briefly about him while speaking with Lysandre, then move on.
He didn't mind playing the wallflower.
When Lysandre began chatting with another business partner, Cole quietly stepped aside.
Suddenly, someone patted him from behind. Cole turned to find himself face-to-face with Piers's pale visage.
Cole was startled.
So Piers had also come to participate in this auction.
"Why didn't you contact me?" Piers looked at him with a grieved expression, "Do you know how hard it's been waiting for you?"
He pointed at his dark under-eye circles.
Yesterday and the day before, Piers hadn't gotten any proper sleep.
Cole thought: Isn't that just eye shadow you deliberately applied?
"Why are you so insistent about me contacting you?" Cole asked, puzzled.
"Why haven't you reached out?" Piers suddenly leaned in close, his eyes wide.
Cole gently pushed him away, "You don't need to get this close — I can hear you just fine. Besides, I have no particular reason to contact you."
But Piers didn't let him finish.
"Make sure to contact me when you get back, okay? I'll be waiting."
With that, he vanished.
At this time, Lysandre had finished his conversations. Noticing Cole's interaction with Piers, he asked curiously, "Was that Piers, the Spikemuth Gym Leader? Are you two close?"
Cole shook his head, "Not really, we just met yesterday. I don't know why he keeps asking me to contact him."
Wait — he had been wearing a mask that day, hadn't he? How did Piers recognize him today?
Well, he'd ask about that when he contacted him later.
Lysandre nodded, "Perhaps he has something important to discuss with you."
The two didn't discuss this further, as someone announced that the auction was about to begin. All bidders were requested to proceed to their assigned seats or private boxes with their number cards.
Lysandre had a VIP invitation, so naturally they would be going to the VIP room. Shortly after, a bunny girl in a long-eared rabbit costume approached the two, ready to escort them to the VIP room.
The VIP room was on the second floor of the club. As Cole and Lysandre reached the stairs, Cole spotted a familiar face.
"Cole?" Called an energetic voice.
"Sister Sara?"
He turned to see Sara looking at him with surprise.
"Cole, you're here for the auction too!" She exclaimed, bouncing over to his side.
Seeing Sara here wasn't entirely surprising — being from the Ryuu family, she would naturally receive an auction house invitation.
"Yes, Sister Sara, it's been so long!" Cole replied cheerfully.
Although they kept in regular contact, they hadn't met in person since parting ways in Coumarine, which explained their excitement.
"And Daisy, long time no see! You seem to have gotten even prettier." Sara said happily, stepping forward to give her a hug.
"Garde~ Garde~" — Long time no see, you've gotten prettier too.
Daisy returned the hug. Though Sara couldn't understand her words, the meaning was clear — women appreciate sincere compliments, especially when they're true.
"Sara, did you run into a friend?"
A deep voice spoke from behind.
Of course Sara hadn't come alone.
"Dad, Lance, you're here! This is my friend Cole — what a surprise to run into him here." Sara confidently introduced him to her father and cousin.
Her cousin was none other than the future renowned Dragon-type Kanto Elite Four member, Lance.
{T/N: With this statement, it makes it seem like Sara (华彩) is actually Clair (小椿), Lance's cousin, from the original story, but her name is completely different in Chinese, so they're not the same person. Possibly another cousin and at some point Clair will be introduced. And yes, this Ryuu family are the ones from the Dragon Tamer clan, it's just a substitute name.}
The current Lance still looked quite young — though he was two or three years older than Cole, he was only about the same height.
Sara's father, Seth, extended his right hand to Cole with a gentle smile, "Hello, I'm Sara's father. Pleased to meet you."
Seth had striking sea-blue hair and stood about 170 centimeters tall. His handsome, youthful appearance made it clear where Sara had inherited some of her beauty.
"Hello, Uncle. I'm Cole," Cole said, shaking his hand politely before gesturing to his companion, "This is my good friend Lysandre."
Upon seeing Lysandre, Seth's eyes widened slightly in recognition, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Lysandre."
"The honor is mine, Mr. Ryuu."
The two men fell into their customary exchange of business pleasantries.
Sara, ignoring the adults' conversation, pulled Cole and Lance aside, "Cole, this is my cousin Lance. Lance, this is my good friend Cole I've told you about."
Lance greeted him with a bright smile, "Hello Cole, I've heard so much about you from Sara. It's great to finally meet you."
"I've heard a lot about you too, Lance. You're quite active in both Kanto and Johto competitions — I often watch your matches!" Cole replied diplomatically.
While Lance was indeed active in competitions, he had watched very few of his matches, being usually too busy and only occasionally following Diantha's competitions.
Though Cole was merely being polite, Lance took the compliment earnestly, scratching his head bashfully.
What an innocent young man!
Even Sara could see through the courtesy, but Lance remained oblivious.
After the introductions, Sara turned to Cole, "Kiara is here today too. Have you run into her? She should be in a private box with her brother now. Let's meet up after the auction ends."
"Sure!" Cole nodded readily, "Whatever you ladies decide."
Kiara was from the Sasaki family — given their status in Kanto, their invitation came as no surprise.
With the auction about to begin, everyone wrapped up their conversations and headed to their respective private boxes.
✲✲✲
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