Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

The Sasaki couple were giving speeches, while Tetsuya mechanically clapped along with the crowd around him.

"Well then, thank you all for coming to my son Sasaki Kojiro's coming-of-age ceremony. It is a great honor!"

With the three people on stage giving their summaries, the boring time finally came to an end.

Tetsuya breathed a sigh of relief.

"Haha, why are you so stiff?"

"No way, no way, there can't be anyone these days who hasn't attended a banquet."

Yozo's sarcastic words made Tetsuya's forehead veins bulge. "You bastard..."

"Ah, there's an elder over there, I need to go say hello." Seeing that things were going badly, Ye Zang immediately made his escape.

He felt that if things continued like this, he might get ganged up on.

Hayato slammed his hand heavily on Tetsuya's shoulder. "At the tournament, whoever runs into him should definitely teach him a lesson."

Kajiyama nodded through gritted teeth. Yozo, as expected of someone aiming to become a master of evil magic, certainly had a knack for being disgusting.

The descendants of the dojo members standing nearby exchanged helpless glances and shrugged.

Although their talent and abilities are already quite outstanding compared to ordinary people, the three in front of them are even more outstanding.

At least they didn't have much hope of defeating Yozo.

After all, even being the heir to his dojo wasn't a significant advantage against these three, let alone Yozo.

"Ha, speaking of which, what happened to that young master Kojiro? He disappeared as soon as he stepped off the stage."

Feng Linye looked around, raised his doubts, and changed the subject.

"I don't know, my family isn't very close to the Sasaki family." The group all said they didn't know.

"It's said to be because he's rather rebellious," Hayato secretly shared the gossip he knew.

Their eyes lit up immediately, and they surrounded Hayata, saying, "Tell us about it!"

"Ha, they're just like the badger in the melon patch," Zhe chuckled dismissively.

Seeing them walk towards a corner, he quickly followed. How could he miss out on such a spectacle?

Although he roughly knew Kojiro's situation by combining information from this life with memories from the previous life, the gossip he heard from others was even more interesting.

"It is said that the Sasaki couple did not really want their son, Kojiro, to become a trainer."

Instead, they hope he will take over the family business in the future, which is quite normal. After all, being a trainer is relatively dangerous, and they don't have that much energy to manage such a large business as the Sasaki family.

This isn't a bad thing; it seems that young master Kojiro isn't too opposed to it.

The key point is that I heard from several seniors that the Sasaki couple exploited their son to an alarming degree.

There are twenty or thirty private tutors alone, covering everything from reading and etiquette to violin and piano.

As you all know, those ancient aristocratic etiquette rules require even the proper manners when handling a spoon; I doubt I could stand it either.

Then Kojiro started skipping classes frequently and was even expelled from the Pokémon Research School. Tetsuya probably knew this, since his teacher, Gota, was the principal of the research school.

Not only that, his girlfriend is also incredibly scary. It's said she likes to use a leather whip, you know what I mean? That kind of thing.

It's just a rumor that young master Kojiro often hangs out as a biker gang on the bike paths, with a bunch of followers.

Hayato lowered his voice and kept emphasizing that he was only hearing about it secondhand.

He even got Tetsuya to testify for him.

As for the slight implied agenda hidden inside, it was naturally ignored by everyone.

"How tragic." These were Kajiyama's words.

"It's not easy for anyone." This was Feng Linye's sigh.

The others nodded in agreement.

However, there wasn't much sympathy, since for them, their lives would probably be even more boring without the elves.

Every day is nothing more than training, replenishing nutrition, studying, and fighting, in a never-ending cycle.

"This is not the script and life I wanted."

A faint, eerie voice rang out.

Turning around, I saw it was Kojiro.

Everyone felt a little awkward; it's not good to be caught gossiping about others behind their backs.

But Kojiro clearly didn't care: "To be precise, there were twenty-three teachers; they prepared everything for me, not just etiquette."

And Lu Meijia...

Kojiro was silent for a while. "She's actually a very good person, but sometimes she's too eager in her pursuits and too obsessed with the pursuit of nobility."

Everyone chuckled awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

Furthermore, he did not deny being a member of a biker gang, which doesn't seem to fit his aristocratic status at all, and does appear somewhat rebellious.

"Let's not talk about my unfortunate life. I'm glad you all came." Kojiro greeted everyone with a professional smile.

"This must be Tetsuya Tamaki. Father and Mother just mentioned you, saying you are an excellent trainer!"

The others should be Maple Leaf Night from the Vermilion City Gym, Hayato Hayate from the Saffron City Gym, Kajiyama, the Gym Leader's apprentice, and...”

Kojiro knew them all like the back of his hand.

During a break in the conversation, a woman's voice came through.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I really have to bother you. My uncle and aunt have something to discuss with Kojiro, so he has to leave for a while."

It was Lu Meijia, who clasped her hands together to express her apology to Tetsuya and his group, displaying the demeanor of a well-bred young lady.

"It's alright, just take care of what you need to do," everyone replied with a smile.

"I'm so sorry, then I'll take Kojiro and leave first." Lu Meijia, wearing a dress, apologized to everyone again, and pulled Kojiro, who was smiling wryly beside her, into the deeper part of the place.

"That Lu Meijia doesn't seem as violent as Hayata described," the group remarked.

Hayato scratched his head sheepishly, thinking it was a misunderstanding on his part.

Tetsuya rolled his eyes inwardly. Nobody's an actor anymore; acting is part of the curriculum.

"Oh right, what gifts did you prepare?"

The group then launched into another pointless discussion about the topic.

Meanwhile, Kojiro and Rumika were walking down the corridor when their usual argument erupted once again.

"I've said it many times, Kojiro, you must become a noble, noble gentleman."

"A Pokémon like Growlithe is completely unsuitable for your status; only Skitty is elegant enough!"

Lu Meijia earnestly persuaded her soon-to-be fiancé, completely disregarding the incredibly rare Growlithe dog in her words.

"I've said it many times, this is impossible. Xiao Ka is my best friend, don't say things like this again, Lu Meijia!"

Completely unaware of why his parents had summoned him, Kojiro continued to resist fiercely.

This isn't the first time they've argued about this.

However, although she didn't take Growlithe seriously, Rumi was still quite wary of the Officer Jenny family behind it.

So if Kojiro, as the trainer, hadn't taken the initiative, she wouldn't have dared to do anything to Growlithe.

Upon entering a room, Kojiro's parents were there, sharing their thoughts with him.

"What? Engaged to Rumika?" Kojiro was still a little incredulous. He had only just come of age today; it was all too fast.

"You don't want to?" Lu Meijia asked from the side, a hint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes.

"No, of course not." Kojiro answered immediately, partly out of his fear of Rumi, and partly because he genuinely liked Rumi now.

Upon hearing Kojiro's answer, both his parents and Rumika smiled with satisfaction.

"I still have to entertain the guests outside, so I'll take my leave now, Father, Mother, and Lu Meijia."

Without waiting for a reply, Kojiro immediately turned and left.

After closing the door, she could still faintly hear her parents talking to Rumi: "Kojiro, he's not elegant or perfect enough as a gentleman. Rumi, you need to teach him a lesson..."

Kojiro's eyes were filled with gloom.

Instead of entertaining his guests as he had promised, he went straight to the back garden.

Gentlemen, elegant, pshaw, no one has ever cared about my thoughts and preferences. He clenched his fist and slammed it against the tree.

"Who's there!"

Suddenly, Kojiro turned around and looked in one direction.

"Uh, sorry, sorry, I just came over to sober up!" Tetsuya walked out from behind a tree with a sigh. How could Kojiro be so perceptive? He thought he wouldn't be discovered.

Kojiro did not reply. The back garden was completely silent, except for the occasional sounds of conversation and laughter that came from the banquet hall.

"I'm sorry, I was rude." Kojiro spoke first, expressing his apology.

"No, no, it's normal. Everyone has their bad days," Tetsuya comforted him, though he felt Kojiro didn't need his comfort.

"Heh, when I'm in a bad mood, this isn't something I should be able to have," Kojiro chuckled helplessly.

He shouldn't have complained to Tetsuya, whom he had just met, but he was in a really bad mood today.

Tetsuya really didn't know how to answer. He paused for a moment, then took out the gift he had envisioned from his pocket: "I heard you really like collecting these. Consider it a personal gift. Take it; it might cheer you up."

With that, he flicked the object, sending it flying toward Kojiro.

Kojiro was taken aback, but instinctively reached out and took it.

He opened his palm and looked at it. "What's this?"

"You'll really like this limited edition bottle cap with its wind chime design, won't you?"

Tetsuya scratched the back of his head, remembering that Kojiro did indeed like collecting bottle caps.

However, what Tetsu didn't know was that the wind chimes held even greater significance for Kojiro.

"Ah, thank you so much."

Kojiro gripped the bottle cap tightly, his palm stinging slightly.

He gave Tetsuya a deep look.

For so long, he had never mentioned this unique hobby of his to anyone other than Kawhi Leonard.

Even their own parents haven't noticed yet, because they don't care.

But no matter what, you're still my friend.

Kojiro thought to himself.

Chapter 172 Yuanqing City

It's inexplicable, but it's very real.

Because it was the first time Kojiro had felt a sense of self from someone else, and what was even more ridiculous was that this person was a complete stranger he had only known for a dozen minutes.

"Let's exchange contact information. It's nice to meet you, Tetsuya."

Kojiro extended his hand.

Tetsuya was somewhat puzzled by Kojiro's inexplicably friendly demeanor. "Wait, it's just a bottle cap, is it that powerful? Even the way he addresses me has changed."

But he extended his hand and shook it in a friendly manner, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kojiro."

A genuine smile flickered across his lips. To be honest, the feeling of becoming friends with his "childhood" from a past life was exceptionally pleasant.

The last time I had this feeling was when I first met Xiaogang.

.............

The next day, Tetsuya carried Togepi in his arms and Snivy on his shoulder as he walked along the League Road toward the next city.

Last night, he naturally rested in the guest room of the Sasaki family, and thanks to his new friend Kojiro, he received excellent treatment.

"Young man, how about a Pokémon battle? 1v1, 1000 League Coins."

A middle-aged man dressed as a mountaineer walked towards them, and smiled as he looked at the Snivy on Tetsuya's shoulder.