Departure

"Ready to go?"

Blake watched as Leon and Sonia packed their luggage, then asked with a smile.

"Yeah. There's no time to waste. We have to set off as soon as possible."

Leon nodded and spoke seriously. Every tournament had a time limit; it was impossible to wait indefinitely. Leon was already prone to getting lost, so there was no time to waste.

"All right, I won't hold you up any longer. But this is for you."

As he spoke, Blake pulled out a small oval device that looked like an electronic pet.

"This is... a PokéNav?"

Having come from a research institute, Sonia naturally knew more about various devices. The PokéNav had once been high-tech equipment, but it had now been replaced by smartphones.

"That's right, a PokéNav. It may look like it has been replaced by smartphones, but as a professional outdoor device, there are still many things it can do that phones can't. For example, its maps are more accurate than phone maps, it can send distress signals at any time, and it uses high-frequency signals, making calls easier in wilderness areas than with a phone. The PokéNav is constantly being updated as well. For people who spend years exploring or working in the wild, it's much more useful than a phone."

As Blake explained, he demonstrated how to use the PokéNav. This was the gift he and Lulina had spent a long time deciding on, mainly meant to help the two members of the lost-and-found duo.

"This... thank you so much. We've troubled you for so many days, and now you're giving us so many things... Wait, Leon, that thing! Hurry! Take it out!"

Sonia was at a loss for what to do, but then she seemed to suddenly remember something and called out to Leon. He froze for a second before hurriedly pulling a fairly large box from his waist pouch.

"We were planning to give this to you quietly before we left, but since we've come this far, we might as well take it out now. We found it in the Wild Area. We heard it's valuable, but we don't really understand it, so we wanted to give it to you. We hope you won't dislike it."

Leon scratched his head as he spoke. Blake took the box, opened it, and immediately froze.

Inside the box were two seemingly ordinary stones. They looked ancient, with bits even crumbling off them, as though they might shatter at any moment. But Blake had received a family education, and he immediately noticed what was unusual about them. Those seemingly chaotic patterns were not cracks in the rock, but the traces left by fossils. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be two Fish Fossils. Still, Blake did not dare to be certain. In reality, fossils came in all kinds of strange forms, and non-professionals had a hard time telling them apart.

But if they truly were fossils, and their genetic material could still be extracted, their value would be immeasurable. Fossils themselves were common, but few still contained extractable genetic material, and fossils capable of reviving Pokémon were rarer still. In truth, fossil Pokémon were quite rare, nothing like in games, where you could find someone, pay a little money, dig on the spot, and come away with a whole sackful.

"Fossils? What a precious gift. Come to think of it, the things I gave you probably aren't worth nearly as much as these fossils."

Blake looked at the fossils and sighed. Lulina was equally astonished. It was not common for someone to bring out two fossils at once.

"Only fossils that can revive Pokémon are truly precious. We still don't know what's going on with these two fossils, and their actual value is unknown, so they aren't that valuable. Besides, they wouldn't be much use in our hands. They can serve a greater purpose with you. As long as you don't mind them, that's enough."

Leon scratched his head and smiled.

"No. Though I'm not a professional either, judging by how complete these fossils are, even if they can't be used to revive Pokémon, they still have plenty of research value. If anything, I'm the one who owes you my thanks. Thank you."

Blake spoke with great sincerity. The Fish Fossils made him unconsciously think of the coolest Pokémon in Pokémon Sword and Shield from when he played the game. But in that case, he would still need a Dragon Fossil. If it worked, perhaps he would not be able to train it himself, but for Lulina, it would definitely become a powerful asset.

"No, no, you're too polite. Um, we should be going. We really should go."

Faced with Blake's sudden, earnest thanks, Leon blushed with embarrassment. He hurriedly waved his hands, grabbed his backpack, and pushed Sonia toward the exit. He was not very good at dealing with such serious situations.

"Come on, I'll see you off."

"Me too, me too!"

Blake smiled at Leon's reaction, then left with Lulina and followed the pair toward the road out of town, escorting them all the way beyond Hulbury.

"There are plenty of Water-type Pokémon outside Hulbury. I noticed you don't have any Water-type Pokémon on your team yet. You could try catching one here."

Standing at the town gate, Blake smiled at Leon.

"Of course! I already have a target in mind."

Leon answered with complete confidence.

"Then good luck. The next Gym Leader is a Fire-type master, so your Charizard can learn a lot from him too. I wish you luck."

"And I hope you find the life you want."

Their hands clasped together, and smiles appeared on the faces of the two boys, who were about the same age. But the two girls were different. They hugged each other as though they were pouring out their hearts.

"Lulina!!!"

"Sonia!!!"

o(╥﹏╥)o

The two hugged and cried, making a huge show of it without shedding a single tear. The two boys, who had been feeling a little sad, immediately felt nothing but the urge to laugh. They really wanted to laugh. They desperately wanted to laugh.

"Hey, hey, we're leaving, Sonia."

"Stop it, Lulina."

The two boys helplessly stepped forward, each grabbing one girl and pulling the pair apart. The way those two were acting was making everyone around them feel awkward.

"Oh, okay."

"Then we're leaving, Lulina. We'll keep in touch by phone."

Perhaps they had also noticed everyone staring at them. Lulina and Sonia immediately separated, and the sorrowful expressions on their faces vanished in an instant. Their change of expression was so fast that Blake and Leon, who had been about to pull them apart with force, nearly threw out their backs.

"You two... ah, forget it. As long as it worked out, that's all that matters. Well then, goodbye."

"Oh! We're off!"

Blake and Leon exchanged another farewell. Leon and Sonia turned and headed out of town. The meeting of young people would eventually become their most beautiful memory, settling over time into the sweetest wine, waiting to be opened and savored again.

But at that moment, Blake had something else to deal with.

"Ring ring ring..."

"Hello? Dad, what! You're already in Galar? You're taking the train back right away? Okay, I'll go to the train station to pick you up."

Blake hung up, called for Lulina, and rushed toward Hulbury Station. Blake's father and mother—James and Louise—who had vanished without a trace for nearly a year, had finally returned to Hulbury.