Chapter 10 : License

I was thinking for a few moments, I really have a hard time remembering my previous name, so I felt a little lost with the last name, I turned to Mother Clarisse and asked her something embarrassed:"would you be very happy if you could use your surname Mother Clarisse think you can?" Mother Clarisse heard that she almost started crying again today, but with a complicated expression she said to me: "I would be very happy to give you my last name Max, but we have a tradition in our orphanage, Most of the orphans who become Trainers adopt the surname Jones for good luck and not that it is very superstitious but those who did it reached high places in the Indigo Plateu and even traveled to other regions in recent years".

Noticing that he had his reasons for not giving me his last name I decided to follow his advice and I turned to see the now excited Junior who waited impatiently for my answer and I said: "Okay, from now on I will be known as the Trainer and future champion Maxwell Jones".

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"What an excellent decision! Sounds great to you, allow me and finish processing your license will only take me a few minutes Mr. Maxwell Jones, please take a seat for while" said Junior as if it were the most exciting thing in the world.

Feeling somewhat confused by the attitude of the receptionist I chose to follow his directions and take a seat with Mother Clarisse, we had an idle talk and after a few minutes I felt somewhat curious so I quietly asked him: "You know, I understand you have your reasons, but I'm a little curious, what's your last name, Mother Clarisse?" When she heard the question she just put on a nostalgic face and said : "Originally I was called Clarisse Rose, but that was many years ago, now I am only Mother Clarisse and I would appreciate you to keep calling me that way" said the last thing with a smile.

Understanding that perhaps there is more to Mother Clarisse's life, I decided not to ask questions about her past, even though I am very curious, part of growing up is understanding that people have things they don't want to share even with their loved ones.

While he had that idea in mind the receptionist got up from his chair and made a gesture for us to approach:" All ready Mr. Maxwell, here I give him his Trainer license" he said as he handed me a small metal card: "Please lift her at the height of her head for a second and press firmly on the right side".

As I followed the instructions of the receptionist I could see how on the right side of the Trainer license was appreciated a photograph well taken of my face which surprised me a lot because I did not understand how a small piece of metal could have those functions without a lens, seeing my astonishing face the receptionist proceeded to tell me: "Now if you pay me your attention I will explain the functions of the Trainer license".

"As the first and most important point this license works as your identification and permission to participate in Pokemon fights and enlist in the challenge of the Indigo Plateu, you should always have it at hand, you will be asked at the Pokemon center to use the services offered by the league and in certain cases helps us locate approximately the Trainers" said the receptionist with a serious tone and saying the point as if he had rehearsed it.

"Doesn't this little card have a tracker or something? Doesn't that seem like a violation of Trainers' rights?" I said feeling offended for a second that the league would know where I was at all times.

"At all, the Trainer license does not have any kind of tracker, what we do is that in the Pokemon Centers we manage a digital log of all the Trainers that occupy some service in the establishments of the league, this measure may sound something extreme, but as you can imagine Trainers lead somewhat risky lives and spend a lot of time in nature so it is very common for some to get lost and their families raise search requests because they spend a lot of time without calling them back, so with the log we can help by doing a better investigation of which were the last places they visited and greatly facilitate the search for the lost" 

Seeing that he seemed satisfied with his answer, Junior lifted two fingers and continued with his explanation: "As second function the Trainer license also works like a wallet, although it is common to see the use of physical Pokedolars in cities, it is not always the best method for someone who travels a lot, so the license can work as a bank account current, if you look closely at your license the total amount of your savings comes out, at this time being new Trainer you must be reflected $2,000 Pokedolars for your first month".

When he said that I quickly corroborated in the license and indeed came out the amount he had told me, just to the left of my photograph and under my name and my hometown the $2,000 numbers came out slightly illuminated.

"As you will notice the number shines, if you do so it will recognize your fingerprint and give you 2 options, which are to transfer to a third-party account or transfer to another Trainer, once you select an option write the amount to transfer, to be more specific, If you put transfer to another Trainer you must select the amount to transfer and then put your license above the Trainer to which you want to pay and you will automatically listen to a *Ping* and the transfer will be ready, or if you want to send money to someone who does not have a license you follow the same procedure and choose the option to send to a third-party account, there you will have to put the unique password of the account of the person you want to send and the desired amount, For the comfort of the Trainers you can save up to 5 unique keys of people who want to send Pokedolars on a regular basis," Junior said as he remembered how Gengar's Trainer paid Nidorino's Trainer a few days ago in the park arena.

"In turn if you want you can use it as a debit card in any establishment in any city, really these licenses rendered useless the use of physical Pokedolars to the Trainers" said the receptionist laughing.

"I have a doubt" I said, raising my hand amazed at how the receptionist explained the use of the license in such detail: "What if for example I win a battle and the other person does not want to pay me Or the opposite happens if I lose a battle and the other person takes advantage that my Pokemon is weakened to threaten me and take more money than agreed?"  I said thinking about how a person from my old world would take advantage of those situations.

"There really is an honor system between Trainers, we are very supportive of each other and those situations almost never happen, In case they happen, you can sue Trainers, they risk doing something like this when they can lose their livelihood and all their savings forever," said Junior, trying to reassure me, the person who extorted you, after an investigation if it turns out to be guilty the person's license is revoked permanently and his account remains frozen or if he is innocent the person who filed the complaint loses his license instead, so you can imagine that very few 

"As a third function the Trainer license allows you to see the status of the Pokemon you have with you at the moment, if you look at the bottom of the Trainer license there are 6 small circles, each one represents the Pokemon that you can walk at the same time,  as you fill your computer a small image of the Pokemon will be put in its respective circle and this will be changed when you make substitutions, biting it will give you its health status, its gender, its level and the attacks it knows, It's not as detailed as a Pokedex might be but believe me it's crucial for any Trainer," said the receptionist with three fingers raised before lifting the room.

"And as the last feature on the back of the Trainer license will reflect your achievements, it is not so extensive but you will get the last tournaments in which you participated along with the places you reached in those tournaments and the Badges that you have managed to collect, this can generate some confusion but the physical Badges are only decorative,  to prevent the Trainers from selling them only take into account the Badges that are reflected in your Trainer license to participate in the Indigo Plateu" said Junior as he waited for me to have any other questions.

Seeing that I keep quiet Junior added: "The Trainer license will be your second best friend in everything that will be your life as a Trainer just below your Pokemon team,  you must take great care of her, is powered by solar energy or with the PCs of the Pokemon Centers so that you let it give you some daylight during your travels should last a long time charging, in the event that you lose it or an extreme situation breaks you must take into account that the cost of replenishment is $20,000 Pokedolars, which will be charged with a discount of 10% of each deposit of money to your account until you settle the total" said the latter in a warning tone.

I was shocked to hear that both can make a simple card, basically if you added a call system could work like a smartphone from my old world, the technology here is very inconsistent, they have spheres that defy logic by catching superpowered monsters and this card that surpasses in several respects the best smartphones I knew but do not have a public internet or commercial cell phones as I am used to, The closest thing would be a PokeNav but I heard they're pretty expensive.

"Now that you have your Trainer license and you know how much you can do let me give you your initial Trainer kit," said Junior as he handed me a yellow bag with two simple straps "This will be your bag, are manufactured by Silph Co in mass for new trainers, has a side pocket for MOs and MTs left and right another for up to 5 types of Potions, in the main pocket has room for up to 30 items thanks to space saving technology, so you know it's the same technology they use for Pokeballs, this model is the most basic you can find and costs about $4,000 Pokedolars, if you put some money together you can find better backpacks of different colors and with much more space, now a small paper containing the list of items you should have.please open it and corroborate the articles" said Junior as I passed 

Already with the Bag in my hands I started to check what I had, in the pocket on the left there were slots as for about 20 discs, in the pocket on the right there was only a small black space that when I put my hand I could feel a few bottles, when I tried them I could feel that it was 5 potions therefore that side was already at maximum capacity, opening the big pocket only looked completely dark, I put my hand and I felt nothing, I thought for a moment about the Pokeballs and immediately felt at my fingertips that when counting them quietly I had about 10 as I specified on the paper, then I corroborated that the 3 Rage Candy Bar were in the same way and to finish I thought about the rope escape, this last one was a little more difficult because I had to basically ask it mentally, when touching it it felt like a normal rope but slightly electrified which I found quite strange.

Seeing that everything seemed in order I put the Superball I was carrying in the Bag before noticing how Mother Clarisse moved nimbly behind the reception and took out from the bottom a plastic bag that I lift with pride: "You don't think that cake was your only gift, do you? Oh, yeah Don't forget it's still your birthday, Max!  Now that you have your license I want you to know that you have my blessing to start your journey with these gifts!" said Mother Clarisse as she handed me the plastic bag that I could see when I opened it contained a belt with six magnetized slots for Pokeballs, black gloves without fingers and a striking red cap with a white-black Pokeball symbol.

Quite moved by his gesture I put on all the items in the bag, particularly I liked the cap and I feel that the belt will be very useful,  I still don't understand what the point of the gloves is, but I think Mother Clarisse didn't want me to clash with the other Trainers.

Seeing me with my new outfit Mother Clarisse began to clap and said cheerfully: "You are practically ready for your adventure Max! You only need one thing, it cost me a little to get it but thanks to an old friend could arrive in time for today!" I comment the last part while I delivered something wrapped in a striking red handkerchief, when I unwrapped it I saw that it was a PokéNav with everything and cover to hang it from my new belt.

I was quite surprised, I don't think Mother Clarisse would make a lot of money at the orphanage and I know that these items must have cost an eye so I felt a little guilty and I said, "I really appreciate this Mother Clarisse but I think it's too much" Mother Clarisse looked a little sad for my comment but quickly refuted: "The PokéNav is basically a safe to feel more calm, I would like you to call me wherever you are when you leave town and its Map function will prevent you from getting lost Max" she said as he put his hands on his chest with a worried gesture.

Once again feeling his intention to keep me safe I swallowed my guilt and said with a smile: "All right, I'll take it, I promise when I'm a successful Trainer I'll pay you and also make sure I call you regularly when I leave town in a few weeks after I beat Brock."

Breaking our touching moment Junior smothered a laugh when he heard what I said about beating his boss in a few weeks and said cheerfully: "I don't think even Maxwell Jones can beat a gym leader with just a few weeks as a Trainer but it will be interesting to see you try" 

Then with a loud applause Junior said with a serious face: "Now you are almost ready, the only thing missing is the main event, Mr. Maxwell, please go to the hallway on my right where my Boss, the leader of the Pewter City Gym, the Great One, will be. "Brock, he will give you your starter Pokemon and you will officially be a Trainer."

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                                                               Trainer License

Trainer: Maxwell Jones

Hometown: Pewter City

Sponsorship: None

Money: $2,000 Pokedolar

Badges: None

                                                                         Bag

5 Potions – POCKET FULL

3 Rage Candy Bar

10 Pokéballs

1 Super Ball

1 Escape Rope

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