"Haaa..." I yawned groggily while sitting up, taking in the sight of the room around me in the morning light.
The room was trashed, even more so than it was last night when we got here.
Naked bodies were scattered everywhere. Some sprawled out, others were curled up together in alluring positions across the floor, while on the bed was Misty and May, both curlled up with their arms and legs entangled like a pair of lovers.
"Looks like everyone else is still too tired to get up just yet." I said to myself, even as I rose and made my way to the desk to check out some of my mail that I saw piled the night before.
It looked like I had mainly received letter from fans, while there were a few official looking envelopes as well that I decided to open first.
Unfortunately that appeared to just be a waste of time, as nearly ALL of them were offers of sponsorships, branding deals, and other shameless attempts to use my name/image for personal gain. But then there was one that caught my attention.
"The Isle of Armor?" I muttered, reading the location the letter came from out loud.
Curious, I opened it and quickly read through it while making sure I didn't miss a single word that was printed.
"Dear Mr. Ketchum,
We of the Master Dojo, located upon the Isle of Armor in the Galar region, hereby invite you to join us at your convenience for possible training. No reply nor immediate acceptance needed, and there is no urgency to travel all the way from your home region of Kanto. We merely ask that you hold on to the enclosed ticket/pass, and pay us a visit should you ever find yourself in the Galar region.
Sincerely,
Masters Honey and Mustard."
"Huh." I muttered while reading the letter over a second time, making sure I didn't miss anything. But the only other thing of note was the ticket and pass that had been included with the letter, as well as a stamp of what looked like a pokemon, except I didn't recognize it.
"I think I'll hold on to that one." I muttered to myself, putting the letter, pass and ticket into my bag where I could keep track of them. The rest of the letters that were offering sponsorships and such however, went into the trash.
With that done, I started opening what looked to be fan letters.
The first few letters I opened were basic fan letters from what seemed to be kids and other prospective trainers, stating how cool I was and how they admired me. A couple of them even came from people who claimed to have been on the SS. Anne during the battle, and were thanking me for saving all of them.
Then there was the first piece of hate-mail that I opened, which had cutout letters from magazines telling me to eat shit and die.
"Must be from one of the poor fuckers that I've cucked." I said out loud with a smirk, before promptly tossing it in the trash as well.
The very next letter I picked up was thicker than the others, and the reason why was evident when I opened it to find several pieces of paper within, or rather, several PHOTOS.
"Oh my~!" I whistled upon seeing the pictures, which were VERY flattering to the person in them. And graphic.
"What's this?" Daisy asked as she wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her breasts against my shoulders as she did so.
"My new porn collection." I answered casually, as the pictures couldn't be confused for anything else.
"Interesting..." Daisy whispered, her breath tickling my ear as she picked up one picture in particular to look at, one in which the girl had written A on her left buttcheek, E on her right, and then a large C going around her butthole to spell out my name.
"I'll say." I commented while looking at some of the other pictures.
"So what are you gonna do with them?"
"I'll probably start a couple of scrap books, one for the fan mail and the other for my other 'fans'." I said while opening another letter, which contained a five page declaration of 'love' from another fan, detailing how much the thought of me filled her body with heat and longing.
"I can go get some stuff together before you leave!" Daisy suggested excitedly.
"Thank you love." I said while giving her a kiss, before Daisy left while scooping her clothes up off the ground.
I opened a few more letters, which contained a mix of actual fan mail, one hate mail from some loser calling himself Romeo, and a couple more declarations of love/lust.
"That's enough for now." I said while standing, putting the letters I had opened and the ones I hadn't touched yet into my bag for later.
Deciding to leave the girls sleeping for a bit longer, I took my bag across the hall with me as I showered really quick, before dressing in traveling clothes and heading downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning~!" Mom called when she saw me. "I saw Daisy leave earlier, but what about the rest of the girls?"
"Still sleeping. I'm gonna let them sleep in a bit longer while I go and visit my pokemon at the lab. Its been a while since I've seen them all at once." I explained while also serving myself up some breakfast.
"That's a good idea! I'm sure they will all be happy to see you." Mom said enthusiastically.
We chatted a bit as I ate, telling her about some of my pokemon that she hadn't met yet, such as the Regi's and my prehistoric pokemon. I also couldn't wait for her to meet Togepi.
Unfortunately that would have to wait for a little while, as mom insisted on waiting here for the girls when they finally decided to get up, leaving me to head to the lab on my own.
"Morning professor." I called out as I entered the lab.
"Good morning Ace." The professor responded, before smiling wryly. "Its been a while since we greeted each other in the morning like this."
"Yeah it has." I replied, thinking back to all the of the days Ash and I spent in this lab, studying and helping the professor care for his pokemon.
I still giggled whenever I recalled the day Ash triggered a Tauros stampede by accidentally stepping on one's tails. Or when he got roasted by Growlithe for accidentally dumping a tub of water on it. Or the time we both raided Dragonite's secret berry stash.
Good times...
"So, did you learn anything new about Deoxys?" I asked the professor as I moved to join him.
"I learned a lot, and so little in comparison to what there is for me to learn. It feels as if I can study Deoxys for the next twenty years, and only barely scratch the surface of the secrets it holds!" The professor declared excitedly.
"And what about my other pokemon? You know, the living prehistoric pokemon Aerodactyl, Omanyte, Kabuto, Rampardos, Relicanth, Lileep and Anorith?" I asked him with a smirk.
"..."
"Ace... If I'm being completely honest, you've given me more than enough work to last the rest of my life! Even if I live to be over a hundred!" The professor declared passionately as he led me to the back of the lab, which was effectively his 'backyard'. Except the 'backyard' in question was a massive property spanning from Pallet town all the way to the mountains that acted as the border between Kanto and Johto. Mountains that I could only just barely see in the distance, and were so tall that all of the mountains between here and there looked like nothing more than some rolling hills.
"Are you worried about not completing it?" I asked him curiously.
"HAHA!"
The professor laughed suddenly as he said with mirth, "Listen Ace. There is not a single man of science who will ever 'complete' his work! It is literally impossible, because science is always evolving, always changing! Any man who claims to be a scientist, yet also claims that they will learn EVERYTHING there is to know about their respective field has no idea how science truly works."
"Huh... I never thought of it like that." I said slowly, while the professor nodded sagely.
"Of course, that doesn't mean that I haven't been making contingency plans for when I'm gone. I believe that I even already have a successor lined up."
"Really? Who?"
"Not saying, its a secret."
"..."
I gave the professor a mock pout that made him laugh even as my pokemon came in to see us, before he seemed to recall something.
"Oh yeah, this came to me a while back, and I forgot to give it to you last night." He said while pullin something from his labcoat pocket.
"What is it?" I asked while accepting the light-blue envelope.
"An invitation to attend Blueberry Academy, just off the coast of Unova. One of the most prestigious schools in the world."
"I see... And why would they want me?"
"I think the offer is intended as an honor, especially for both of you. Not only would you have unrestrained access to their facilities, which are amongst the best in the world, but they would also have the pride of claiming you as an alumni."
I scoffed while preparing to through the invitation away, only for the professor to stop me before I could do so.
"Normally I would agree, but I wouldn't do that if I were you Ace. Their facilities are second to none, and you never know when you will need them with everything you have to accomplish."
"..."
"If you say so." I sighed while putting the invitation in my bag, along with the one inviting me to the Isle of Armor.
"By the way professor, have you ever heard of the Isle of Armor, and the Master Dojo there?" I asked him suddenly.
"Oh? Why do you ask?"
"Because they sent me this." I said, offering him the letter, which the professor perused quickly.
"Interesting... Would you believe me if I told you that Bruno also attended this dojo?"
"Wait, really?!"
"Yes. He spent some time with them in his youth. He readily states that the sole reason he and his pokemon are so powerful is becasue of the time he spent there."
"Then Lucario and I should definitely check it out someday." I said while returning the letter to my bag.
"Check what out?" My partner asked as he suddenly appeared, dragging an exhausted looking Slowking behind him.
"I got an offer to train at this place called the Master Dojo. Apparently Bruno trained there as well when he was younger."
"Is that so?" Lucario asked, his eyes sharpening with interest.
"Yeah. Maybe we can go check it out whenever we get a chance to visit Galar." I added, which made Lucario deflate slightly.
"Very well. Until then, I shall make sure this one remains constant in his training." Lucario stated while giving Slowking a look, who appeared as if he had just been told the world itself was ending.
Despite Slowking's grievances though, the world was NOT ending. Not yet at least.
So while Lucario tortured him with more training, I took the time to feed and visit with my pokemon.
"Snorlax snore!" Snorlax declared as he hurried over, before crushing me in a massive hug.
"Its....nice to see you too..." I gasped as my pokemon tried to crush me. "I guess you want your breakfast then, right?"
"Snore~!" Snorlax answered, readily accepting the plate of food that I offered him. What I wasn't expecting was for him to immediately go to Lickilicky and offer her the food.
"Oh. My. Gods."
"Right? I was surprised as well." Professor Oak stated as he watched the scene with me, and Lickilicky readily slurped up all of the food with her tongue.
"Licky~!" She declared, happily, before promptly ignoring Snorlax as she approached to give me her customary Lick every time she saw me.
"Really...?" I groaned while wiping slobber from my face and clothes.
"Licky lick lick~!" She answered, completely ignoring Snorlax. I actually felt pretty bad for him due to how Oblivious Lickilicky was.
"CHAAAAAAAAR!"
Meanwhile Charizard and Infernape were showing off their new Blast Burn attack to my other fire type pokemon, who watched on with envy. I could even feel the other fire starters desire to quickly grow stronger and evolve so they could learn it as well.
They weren't the only ones watching though, as I also spied Dratini watching Charizard with stars in her eyes.
"Hey professor." I called out to him quietly.
"Yes?"
"How do you think the child of a Charizard blessed by Ho-Oh, and a Dragonite blessed by the True Alpha Dragonite would turn out?"
"Huh?" The professor uttered in confusion, before turning to see what I was seeing.
"Oh my... I don't know whether to be scared or intrigued by the idea."
"In your case? Intrigued. Definitely intrigued." I replied, already knowing how the professor was. The man didn't even know the word 'caution' when it came to pokemon he found interesting.
"I don't suppose you can try to hurry and get Dratini to evolve?" He pleaded hopefully.
"I mean, I would love it if she did, but I also don't think it would be best to force it before she's ready." I answered. Though something tells me she was going to try and hurry to evolve herself.
Aside from them, I also noticed Deino, Machop and Croagunk all locked into battle against one another, while Tinkatuff was chasing Rookidee around with her hammer. At the same time I could hear numerous explosions in the distance, which were actually coming from Tyrantrum, Nidoking and Steelix.
The next few hours were spent just pretty much hanging out with all of my pokemon while we waited on the girls, who finally meandered over with mom around lunchtime.
"Morning~!" Dawn called out to us happily.
"Morning." I called back, looking up from playing with Togepi.
"Oh my gosh! That pokemon is just so adorable~!" Mom cried out as she rushed forward, and started playing with him as well.
"More adorable than Rowlet?" I asked teasingly, pointing to him as I did so.
"..."
"Don't make me ground you young man." She stated with a tone suggesting complete seriousness.
"Well then." I said, feigning offense at her threat.
The girls around us giggled before I proceeded to properly introduce mom to all of my pokemon, starting with the cutest amongst them of course. I also showed her the two other eggs I had, while noting that one of them, the Shieldon egg, had started to wobble slightly.
While we were meeting the pokemon and GENTLY passing the egg around, Joy had gone to check on Pidgeot.
He was nearing the end of the month that he was not allowed to fly, so we decided that if he was feeling well enough then we can end his grounding now.
"How is he?" I asked as I approached Joy at Pidgeot's nest.
"He seems fine." She said while using her instruments to test his wings and body.
"Geo!" He declared haughtily, stating that of course he was!
"Hmmm..."
Joy just ignored him though as she continued her examination, before finally saying, "I guess he's good to go."
*WHOOSH!*
A sudden downdraft assaulted us the second those words left her mouth, as Pidgeot proceeded to hurtle himself into the sky for the first time in a month.
"I think he agrees with you..." I said while looking upwards, where he was already nothing more than a blurry dot.
"Yeah? Well, when he comes back down tell him I don't want him carrying ANYONE for at least a week, to give his muscles time to recover if nothing else." She said strictly, which I mentally noted since it meant I would still need to use Aerodactyl to get around in the air.
"I guess he can build that all back up following us around again." I commented, as once I got my eighth Badge from Karen, the professor can properly remove my carry limit. Then it wouldn't matter how many pokemon I had following me around.
Speaking of...
"Who all is ready to get on the road?!" I suddenly shouted to the girls.
"Already?!" Misty complained.
"Yeah, already. I want to whoop Karen's ass TODAY!" I exclaimed, making them roll their eyes at me in exasperation.
"Ace is right though." The professor spoke up.
"Its already lunchtime, and it does take acouple hours to get to Viridian city from here. Plus you never know how many people are in the queue ahead of you. There was quite a bit of back up from the time when Giovanni was exposed, and people couldn't get their Badges until his replacement was decided."
The girls exchanged some looks at each other from that, before they apparently decided to agree. Thankfully.
I quickly chose which pokemon I planned to take with me to challenge Karen, when one of them approached me himself.
"Kora!"
Koraidon approached me right as we were about to leave, before barking at me indignantly.
"What? You want to go too?"
"Kora!"
"Hmmm..."
I hummed as I debated on bringing Koraidon with me, though I was on my way to challenge a Gym.
"I say bring him." Professor Oak suddenly said.
"You think so?"
"Yes. Karen uses dark type pokemon, and through my study of it, I have concluded that Koraidon would qualify as a fighting/dragon type. A battle against her would be perfect to determine his capabilities."
"Alright then. Let's go Koraidon."
"KOR!" Koraidon roared in agreement, before he stepped up beside me and angled his shoulder at me.
"You saying you want me to ride you too?"
"Kora!"
"Alright then." I said as I climbed up onto his back, settling on the seat-like groove.
"How about Lillie too?" I asked.
"Kor!"
"Come on up." I called out to the blonde, who didn't have her own bike yet or anything to travel with us. I'll get her one while we're in Viridian though.
"Really?!" Lillie exclaimed while looking at Koraidon warily.
"Its ok." I assured her, before pulling her up to sit in front of me. And of course, Nebby was riding with us as well, tucked safely away in Lillie's bag.
"Everyone ready?" I asked while looking over the rest of the group, with Misty, May, Dawn, Joy and Chloe all mounted up on their bikes as they nodded back at me.
"Then let's go!"
I took Koraidon's antannae in my hands like reigns, and as I willed him to we took off out of Pallet to the next step of our journey. For about ten minutes or so, when we found something in the middle of the rugged mountain path heading north.
"Mime. Mime. Mime."