Excitement Before Departure

"We're about to set off. Is your gear ready?"

James opened Blake's bedroom door and asked.

"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 exceptionally well prepared. But there's one thing to note: the ruins we're visiting have already been excavated, so there's no 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 at 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. Adequate logistical support had long since been established.

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

Blake did not say much. This was his first time traveling far from home and exploring ruins, so listening to his father could not go wrong.

"We're taking the six o'clock train tomorrow morning, arriving at the airport at nine, then heading for the Sinnoh Region. Oh, right. We won't be the only team going there this time. Remember: talk less, observe more, and learn more."

James repeatedly reminded him.

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

Blake said with a smile, scratching his head.

"Good. I believe in you. Go to bed early. We have to get up early tomorrow."

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

"Keh-heh~~"

Haunter floated over from behind him. A bandage was stuck to each side of his triangular head. He had obviously gone to train with his teachers again, and the result did not need explaining. One look was enough to tell he had been taught a lesson.

"Siiya~~"

Dreepy had been taught a lesson too. The little guy had also gotten beaten up, and even flying was a little difficult for him now.

"Hooorrrn!"

Dhelmise, on the other hand, was clearly delighted. Its roar was even louder than usual.

"You went training again? Dhelmise, it looks like you learned a new move."

Blake smiled as he looked at his three Pokémon.

"Hooorrrn! Hoorrrn!"

Dhelmise cried out. The next moment, an emerald-green ball of light appeared before it. It did not fire it, instead maintaining it for a while before 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. It was clearly not at that level yet, so it had obviously learned this Energy Ball from Trevenant.

"Hooorrrn!"

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

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

"Keh..."

The moment Blake brought up his sore spot, Haunter immediately lowered his head in misery and covered his face as though crying. Not being able to learn Energy Ball had always been his pain! He learned other moves quickly enough, but Energy Ball was painfully slow. He had no idea why.

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

Blake smiled and patted Haunter on the head.

"Siiya~~!"

When Dreepy saw that Blake was not paying attention to it, it immediately squeezed into his arms and cried out coquettishly. Rather than a dragon, it seemed more like a cat. Blake scratched Dreepy beneath the chin, and Dreepy let out a rumbling purr, making it seem even more catlike.

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

Blake stroked Dreepy's smooth little hide and asked with a smile.

"Keh? Hmm... Keh!"

Hearing Blake ask, Haunter thought carefully. Then a lightbulb popped up above its head—an actual lightbulb, not an exaggerated description. It could only be said that Haunter had become increasingly proficient with its ability to turn into mist and change shape.

"Keh! Keh-keh!"

{This guy tried to slack off, but Teacher Sableye caught him and gave him a good lesson. Hehehe!}

Ignoring Dreepy's pleading gaze, Haunter truthfully explained what had happened. There was no helping it—who told the little guy to try sneaking off on his own?

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

Blake laughed as he rubbed Dreepy's cool little head.

"Keh! ∠(°ゝ°)"

Haunter immediately looked as though it had received an order. It saluted Blake, then widened its eyes and stared at Dreepy, as though it intended to keep watching it without blinking.

"Siiya! o(>﹏<)o Nooo!"

Dreepy immediately looked as though it had been shot down. Full of distress, it rolled over and fell onto the bed.

"Ha ha ha ha! All right, enough messing around. Get some rest. We're setting off tomorrow—the Sinnoh Region. I've never been there before. What do you think? Let's see the world outside!"

Excitement could not help appearing on Blake's face. He might have been a bit of a homebody, but what man did not secretly dream of going out on adventures?

"Keh!"

"Hooorrrn!"

"Siiya!!!"

All three Pokémon cried out excitedly, with Dreepy being the most excited of all. It wanted to go out and play more than anyone. It had been born only a short time ago and had always lived at home; it had not even seen the sea. Now, it was so excited that it completely forgot its training injuries, performing all sorts of aerial maneuvers. This time, it truly had a little of a soaring dragon's grace.

"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. We don't know what kind of Pokémon or unusual situations we might encounter. So now, sleep!"

As Blake spoke, he directly switched 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 way too excited to sleep! Haunter! Hit me with a Hypnosis!"

Blake threw back the blankets and shouted desperately at Haunter, who was hanging from the chandelier.

"Keh-heh~~ ("-ωก̀)"

Haunter rubbed its eyes, poked its head out from the chandelier, glanced at Blake, and snapped its fingers helplessly. Seriously, who had just said they needed to sleep and build up their energy? Now he was disturbing someone else's sleep.

As Haunter used Hypnosis, Blake immediately felt his eyelids growing heavy. Before long, drowsiness swallowed him whole.

"ZZZZZZ!" Steady breathing echoed through the room.