"Good morning, Master." May rubbed her eyes as she pushed the door open and came out. It was still early, and the sky had not even brightened yet, but May had already been called out of bed. Heath had told her about this yesterday, though, so she had set an alarm and climbed groggily out of bed. Seeing her sleepy face made Heath want to laugh a little, but he had her come along to wash up with him first. They could talk about going to the market to learn afterward.
By then, Charizard had already been exercising for a while. Heath could tell from the soaking-wet towel hanging around his neck. This left Heath at something of a loss for words, and he could only pat Charizard on the shoulder. The Charmander he had caught back then had become a musclebound hulk, and the scariest part was that he kept training even after becoming one. Luckily, Charizard was a Pokémon rather than a human, or other musclebound guys would probably have come over to chat him up long ago.
Although that was a bit of a stereotype, Heath had to admit that there had been a saying in his previous life: "The gym's final destination is a gay bar."
"Charizard, you're still working so hard." Heath patted Charizard on the shoulder. This big guy really took hard work a little too far. Heath was clearly not a Trainer who intended to compete for the position of Pokémon Champion, yet Charizard worked so hard that Heath felt a little embarrassed. He even wondered whether not becoming a Pokémon Champion would let down all the effort Charizard was putting in now.
"I want to become the strongest Charizard." Charizard was the same as ever, brief and to the point. He had