Excitement Before Departure

"Getting ready to leave? Have you packed all your gear?"

James opened Blake's door and asked.

"I'm ready. I brought everything I should; here's the checklist."

Blake took out his notebook and showed James everything he had packed.

"Hmm... very good. For someone heading into ruins for the first time, you're thoroughly prepared. But there's one thing to note: the ruins we're visiting this time have already been excavated, so you don't need to bring things like water purifiers. Still, the fact that you thought of them shows you paid close attention to how I prepared in the past."

James nodded as he looked over the list in the notebook, then casually crossed out several unnecessary items. After all, for ruins that had already been excavated, there was no need to prepare so much; logistical support had long since been put in place.

"Okay, I'll sort through it again. What time is the flight tomorrow?"

Blake did not say much. It was his first time traveling far from home to explore ruins, so listening to his old man could not be wrong.

"The train leaves at six tomorrow morning. We'll reach the airport at nine, then head for the Sinnoh Region. Oh, right. We won't be the only team going there this time. Remember: talk less, watch more, and learn more."

James reminded him again and again.

"Don't worry, Dad. I won't embarrass you."

Blake said with a smile, scratching his head.

"Mm, I believe you. Get some sleep early. You'll have to get up early tomorrow."

After saying that, James turned, closed the door, and left.

"Kehehe~~"

Haunter floated over from behind him. A bandage was stuck to each side of his triangular head; clearly, he had gone to train with his teachers again. The outcome needed no explanation—one look told Blake that Haunter had gotten thoroughly taught a lesson.

"Dreepy~~"

Dreepy had gotten taught a lesson too. The little guy had been beaten up as well, and even flying seemed somewhat difficult for him now.

"Hooolong!"

Dhelmise, on the other hand, was clearly delighted. Even his roar was louder than usual.

"You went training again? Dhelmise? Looks like you learned a new move."

Blake said with a smile as he looked at his three Pokémon.

"Hooolong! Hoolong!"

Dhelmise cried out, and the next instant, an emerald-green sphere of light appeared before him. However, he did not fire it. After maintaining it for a moment, it gradually dispersed.

"This is... Energy Ball! You've already learned it?"

Blake rubbed his eyes. Dhelmise could naturally learn Energy Ball by leveling up, but that would happen much later. Dhelmise clearly had not reached that level yet, so he had obviously learned this Energy Ball from Trevenant.

"Hooolong!"

Dhelmise shouted excitedly, looking as though he were saying, I'm amazing, right? Hurry up and praise me.

"Amazing, amazing. I was planning to have you learn it from Trevenant after a while, but I never expected you to learn Energy Ball in just a few days. Haunter has been trying to learn it for ages and still hasn't managed it."

"Kehe..."

Upon hearing Blake bring up his sore spot, Haunter immediately lowered his head in anguish and covered his face as though crying. Not being able to learn Energy Ball had always been a painful point for him! He learned other moves quickly, yet Energy Ball came so slowly. He had no idea why.

"Alright, don't be sad. The timing just isn't right yet. Didn't you learn Shadow Ball incredibly fast?"

Blake smiled and patted Haunter's head.

"Dreepy~~!"

Seeing that Blake was not paying attention to him, Dreepy immediately squeezed into Blake's arms with a needy cry. Rather than a dragon, he seemed more like a cat. Blake scratched Dreepy beneath the chin, and Dreepy let out a rumbling purr, making him seem even more catlike.

"Looks like Dreepy trained too. How did it go? Haunter?"

Blake asked with a smile as he stroked Dreepy's smooth little body.

"Kehe? Hmm... Kehe!"

Haunter thought carefully after hearing Blake's question, and then a light bulb popped up over his head. An actual light bulb—not an exaggerated figure of speech. It could only be said that Haunter had become increasingly proficient at turning himself to mist and shapeshifting.

"Kehe! Kehehe!"

{This guy tried to slack off, but Teacher Sableye caught him and taught him a lesson. Hehehehe!}

Ignoring Dreepy's pleading gaze, Haunter truthfully told Blake what had happened. What could he do? The little guy had tried to sneak off on his own.

"Hahahahaha! That really is Dreepy's personality. But didn't you say before that you wanted to surpass Leon's Thwackey? You can't surpass him just by talking about it. So, Haunter, keep an eye on this little guy."

Blake said with a laugh, rubbing Dreepy's cool little head.

"Kehe! ∠(°ゝ°)"

Haunter immediately acted as though he had received an order, saluting Blake before widening his eyes and staring at Dreepy, as if he intended to watch him closely from now on.

"Dreepy! o(>﹏<)o Nooo!"

Dreepy immediately looked as though he had been shot down. With a troubled expression, he flipped over and landed on the bed.

"Hahahahaha! Alright, enough fooling around. Get some rest. We're leaving tomorrow for the Sinnoh Region. I've never been there before. What do you think? We'll get to see the outside world!"

Excitement could not help showing on Blake's face. He might have been somewhat of a homebody, but what man did not secretly dream of going out on an adventure?

"Kehe!"

"Hooolong!"

"Dreepy!!!"

All three Pokémon cried out excitedly, with Dreepy being the most excited of all. He wanted to go out and play more than anyone. He had been born only recently and had always lived at home; he had never even gone out to sea. Now, in his excitement, he completely forgot about the injuries from training and performed all sorts of aerial maneuvers. This time, he truly looked a little like a soaring dragon.

"We're leaving tomorrow, so all of you get some proper rest now and build up your energy. We're going to ruins, after all. Who knows what kind of Pokémon or unusual situations we might encounter? So now, bedtime!"

As he spoke, Blake directly turned off the room's light and threw himself onto the bed. The three Pokémon also returned to their respective resting spots to sleep, and then...

Ten minutes passed. Half an hour passed. An hour passed.

"I can't sleep! I'm too excited to sleep at all! Haunter! Hit me with Hypnosis!"

Blake threw off his blanket and shouted at Haunter, who was hanging from the chandelier, his face full of despair.

"Kehe~~("-ωก̀)"

Haunter rubbed his eyes, poked his head out from the chandelier, and gave Blake a helpless glance before snapping his fingers. Seriously, who had just said they should sleep and build up their energy? And now he was disturbing someone else's sleep.

As Haunter used Hypnosis, Blake immediately felt his eyelids growing heavy. Before long, sleep overwhelmed him.

"ZZZZZZ!" Steady breathing echoed through the room.