The Outstanding Camper Awards Ceremony was still in full swing.
After receiving their customized Medals, the time had finally come for the real rewards of the Pokémon Summer Camp's top students to be distributed.
First Place: Ash
He officially received the Froakie that had been temporarily assigned to him during the camp as his personal starter Pokémon—a reward for earning first place.
Second Place:
Serena: Chose Fennekin, the Fire-type from the Kalos starter trio that Ash had previously recommended.
Shauna: Selected Bulbasaur.
Green: Received the Dedenne she had been temporarily using during camp as her official starter.
Third Place:
Gary: Chose Squirtle.
Tierno: Also chose Squirtle.
Trevor: Selected Charmander.
Fourth Place: Jeanette Fisher
She requested Bellsprout, the same one temporarily given to her during camp, to be issued as her official starter Pokémon.
Except for Ash, Green, and Jeanette, the other outstanding campers all picked a new starter from the regional trios.
Professor Oak continued:
"Well then, aside from our outstanding campers, every student who participated in this summer camp will also receive a commemorative graduation medal."
Though these medals were not the same as the official "honor awards," each student also received a detailed score report for their ten-day journey.
"Whoa, this is the commemorative medal?"
"Everyone who joined the camp gets one!"
"This is such a great memory to take home."
"I may not have won any honors, but I gave it my all. I have no regrets."
"Exactly! The best part of camp was making friends—that's the real reward!"
"Yeah! Who cares about awards? Friendship forever!"
Whether or not it was meant to comfort the regular students, the commemorative medals—aside from being made of wood—were nearly identical in design to the Outstanding Camper medals.
And since this was their official summer camp performance report, the medals even had personal stats engraved on the back, thanks to the meticulous efforts of the staff and printers.
Example: Student H's Performance Report:
Summer Camp Score: 63 points
Day 1: Opening Challenge – 4 pts
Day 2: Fishing Contest – 7 pts
Night Forest Dare – 2 pts
Day 3: Pokémon Documentary Filming – 5 pts
Day 4: Field Pokémon Observation & Report – 7 pts
Day 5: Cooking Contest – 8 pts
Day 6: Cross-Country Pokémon Race – 6 pts
Day 7: Intense Triathlon – 6 pts
Day 8: Stage Performance – 5 pts
Day 9: Pokémon Food Making – 7 pts
Day 10: Final Challenge – 6 pts
On the back of every medal was a simple Total Leaderboard:
1st Place: Ash (100 pts)
2nd Place: Serena, Shauna, Green (98.5 pts)
3rd Place: Gary, Tierno, Trevor (97 pts)
46th Place: H (63 pts)
Only the top three rankings were shown, but each student's personal ranking was also engraved at the bottom of their own medal.
…
Ash's name was pinned to the top of everyone's scorecard. Every medal showed his 100-point total.
And upon seeing this, Ash suddenly had an idea.
He wanted to ask Professor Oak if they could mail a medal to Goh, the one student who had been expelled.
That way, Goh would forever remember that he scored zero in nearly every event… while Ash had achieved a perfect 100 in all ten challenges.
Ash: First place.
Goh: Dead last.
Ash: Honored by the League and allowed early ownership of Pokémon.
Goh: Expelled from camp with a negative record in the League's archives.
Even before turning ten, Goh would have to report to Vermilion City's Officer Jenny Station three days a week for re-education on Pokémon compassion.
He'd also need to spend two days volunteering at the Vermilion Pokémon Center.
And when he eventually reached the age of ten, he'd have to undergo a special evaluation. If he failed… he wouldn't be eligible for a starter Pokémon. In fact, he might be permanently banned from becoming a trainer—or working in any Pokémon-related career.
Hard to believe the same Goh whom Ash once kept a wary eye on had ended up taking such a drastically opposite path.
"Nope, can't let my guard down. The bad guys always fall because they get too cocky. I'm not a villain—but Goh is childhood-friend-with-a-dark-path material. That's dangerous."
"I must stay alert… Always keep an eye on him."
Clutching the honor medal tightly in his hand, Ash silently reaffirmed this to himself.
…
Pokémon Camp Cafeteria
"The Pokémon Summer Camp is really over now, huh? Man, time flew by!"
The young blue-haired chef sighed as he stirred the stew.
"Yeah, and so ends the life of three hot meals a day—meow~" said the short chef, kicking his legs back and forth while sitting on the dishwashing counter.
"But wait... weren't we supposed to be doing something important?"
The blue-haired chef scratched his chin, confused.
"Now that you mention it... we did sneak into this camp with some special purpose, didn't we?"
"Ah, whatever. We earned a ton of money this time! No need to worry about little things—meow~"
The two "chefs" grinned like idiots, not noticing that the purple-haired female chef next to them was already boiling with rage.
BAM!!
With a thunderous slap, the angry chef slammed her hand onto the cutting board, making the whole counter shake.
"AAAAH! Jessie, what was that for? You scared me to death!"
The blue-haired chef clutched his chest in terror.
"James! Meowth! Tell me—what are we really doing here?!"
Jessie's eyes burned with fury as she barked the question.
"Uh… We're chefs?"
"Our job is to cook yummy meals for the campers—meow~"
They replied instantly—without a single thought.
Jessie nearly fainted.
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T/N:
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