The next morning
"Ding! Ding! Ding!"
The alarm clock on the Communicator suddenly went off, jolting Roy awake from his dream with a start, a sense of panic washing over him.
It's over! It's over!
If I'm late for Early Bird training, I'll get punished by Bruno with the three-piece hellish training set again.
Roy was just about to get dressed and get out of bed when he looked at the somewhat unfamiliar scene in the room and the large floor-to-ceiling window in front of him, and suddenly his hand froze in mid-air.
Wait, didn't I already pass the test?
So that means... he can sleep in now?
God knows what a sacred sleep means to someone who Early Bird every day. Having figured it out, Roy lay down again and fell asleep.
When Roy woke up again, he was awakened by the first rays of Early Bird Morning Sun shining through the French windows.
Looking out the window at the half-sun rising from the horizon, Roy first moved the Ancient Gengar's thigh off his waist.
Bubbles were still rising from the nose of the fat man with the purple tattoo, but Roy popped them with a finger. He opened his eyes and stared at Roy with a bewildered expression.
Then there's the Snorunt sleeping with its legs tucked in, the Misdreavus lying in its arms, and the Lampent cosplaying as a lamp on the bedside table.
After waking up his Pokémon, Roy put them all into their Poké Balls. The Ancient Gengar entered his shadow, and then Roy got up, left the room, and went down the stairs.
As soon as you go downstairs, the first thing you see is Nurse Joy and Chansey, both sporting smoky panda eye makeup.
The two's unusual looks startled Roy. Was this some kind of new style where Pokémon Trainers and Pokémon wore matching makeup?
"Guest, did you sleep well last night?"
In response to Nurse Joy's expectant question, Roy said what she wanted to hear.
"It was a wonderful experience. Nurse Joy, for letting me see such a beautiful view."
Upon hearing Roy's affirmative answer, Nurse Joy's tired expression visibly eased, as if she had been given a shot of adrenaline.
"Take care, guest. Remember to leave us a good review!"
"Geely! Geely!"
Watching Roy leave the Pokémon Center with his hands behind his back giving an OK sign, Nurse Joy felt that she had passed the family's test.
Arriving at the port of Vermilion City, Roy had booked a ferry ticket on the official website yesterday. Coincidentally, the only ship going to the Hoenn today was the S.S. Anne.
So Roy bought a ticket for the S.S. Anne at a high price.
For him now, Poké Dollars are just a number. Many of the Pokéblock he practices making at the Joy family's workshop every afternoon are either sold or custom-made by Joy Lando, so he doesn't need Roy's few Poké Dollars.
The S.S. Anne had not yet arrived at the port, so Roy waited quietly there.
Roy saw a young woman facing a canvas, holding a paintbrush and applying paint to it. The woman's clothes were also covered in paint, but she didn't seem to care and continued to paint the seascape in front of her.
Isn't this the Mina from the Alola Region?
What's going on here, painting an oil painting?
Seemingly sensing that someone was watching her, Mina looked up at Roy, but lowered her head again after realizing she didn't recognize him.
Roy was too lazy to try and get close to Mina, lest he make a fool of himself.
While waiting for the S.S. Anne, a car stopped at the port, and a family of four got out of the car.
It is a standard family combination of a couple and two children.
The couple were very loving, and the wife told her husband to take care of his health while he was away... During this time, Roy also vaguely heard the name "Sakuragi".
Sakuragi?
These two words sound so familiar.
Roy turned and glanced at the family of four.
This scan had a surprising effect; Roy spotted an acquaintance in it.
The man in the white coat who got out of the car was Professor Sakuragi, the Pokémon Professor from the Journeys arc.
The woman with a purple braid and wearing a white floral dress is Clair's mother, Sakuragi Yoshino, while the woman next to her, who looks exactly like her, is her daughter, Clair.
It has to be said that Yoshino's genes are comparable to those of Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny; Clair looks exactly like her.
Seeing Yoshino Roy makes you imagine what Clair will look like when she grows up.
Yoshino was also holding a little boy in his arms, who was Clair brother, Sakuragi Sota.
She's probably just learned to walk and still needs to be carried by Yoshino.
When they parted, Professor Sakuragi hugged his wife and two children. Clair reluctantly said goodbye to Professor Sakuragi, while Sota could only wave goodbye to Professor Sakuragi with babbling sounds.
After saying goodbye to his family, Professor Sakuragi headed towards the harbor. Upon seeing Roy, Professor Sakuragi first adjusted his glasses, then quickly walked up to Roy and asked incredulously:
"Are you Roy?"
"It's me, and you are...?"
Roy was surprised that Professor Sakuragi would call him by name, and he had to pretend that he didn't know him.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Researcher Sakuragi. Professor Oak previously..."
It turns out that when Professor Oak was showing them the progress of his research on the Annihilape, he specifically thanked Roy on behalf of the archaeological community for contributing so many artifacts, and even mentioned Roy's name in a journal article.
Therefore, Professor Sakuragi recognized Roy at a glance.
Professor Sakuragi looked at Roy expectantly; his current research report also had many shortcomings regarding the mysterious Ghost type.
"You're Sakuragi... Researcher? I've heard so much about you."
Professor Sakuragi is currently just a Researcher and has not yet become Pokémon Professor.
During their conversation, Roy discovered that Professor Sakuragi was heading to the Johto, and that this trip was the final step in securing his doctorate.
After saying that, Professor Sakuragi took out a ticket for the S.S. Anne, which was exactly the same as the one Roy had. It turned out that Roy was also going to ride the S.S. Anne.
It's a pity I don't know where that Goh Xiao Hao is, otherwise I would definitely come and beat up Lai Fu to liven things up.
Before the S.S. Anne arrived, Professor Sakuragi and Roy had a chat.
Through their conversation, Professor Sakuragi discovered that Roy also possessed extensive theoretical knowledge about Pokémon, making him a Pokémon Trainer who valued both theory and battle.