Unsurprisingly Harold became occupied. The day after the battle, he had to head off to Eterna Forest to quell an invading Beedrill swarm. The new Beedrill swarm began warring with the native population especially the Combees and even the native Beedrill population that were subsequently riled up. The current Rangers already operating there were already at full capacity attempting to keep the Pokemon in line and requested backup which was where he came in. The Eterna Gym was also involved but the effectiveness of Grass types against Bug types was quite limited.

  Before leaving, he said to Rachel, “You’re free to use our guest room as long as you remain in Jubilife. Pokemon Centers are great but they’re hard to relax in. Makes me feel like I’m still on my journey which isn’t necessarily a bad thing”

  She understood the feeling as someone that had travelled through an entire region already.

  “Yeah, I get it. It’s a bit restricting when you know the place is temporary”

  He nodded in understanding and then ran out the door with Luxray in tow.

  After a quick breakfast of just cereal as he didn’t enjoy starting the day feeling like a Snorlax, Harrison turned to Rachel and asked, “Do you have plans already or would you like me to show you around the city?”

  “You’re the local. Surprise me”, she said with a smile.

  He thought for a while before deciding.

  “Let’s go get you a Poketch then”, he said as he thought of her PokeNav. She was bound to meet other Trainers in Sinnoh and most people didn’t have a Poketch capable of cross-compatibility.

  The two then headed down to the Poketch Company building and entered through the retail entrance. Typically, Harrison utilized the office entrance but he didn’t intend on revealing any of his secrets yet.

  Inside was a store filled with people browsing with some sales members conducting product demonstrations, app demos for the Poketch, and of course, a few handling the purchases. One demonstration had a Chimchar failing to melt a Premium version of the Poketch with Ember and even Fire Spin to indicate the quality and durability of the device. The interior was sleek and futuristic with plenty of screens that displayed product information and announcements regarding future promotions and possible projects which the company was tackling. One collaboration seemed to be with the Pokemon League which would inform contestants of the time of their upcoming matches at the Conference. The app in consideration even calculated distance from their arena to avoid unintended lateness resulting from traffic.

  There was also a booth where a staff member would receive coupons from young Trainers in exchange for the bare bones model of the Poketch. It was quite close to the entrance and had a poster with a cartoony rendition of a clown next to it.

  Despite the massive success their devices brought, the Poketch Company decided to remain accessible and didn’t pivot towards Poketches being a luxury product even though they were quality watches with far more functionality.

  A staff member immediately came by and asked in a polite manner, “What brings you in today, sir?”

  “My friend needs a Poketch that has cross-compatibility with Hoenn”, Harrison stated.

  He nodded and asked, “Are there any preferences in color or design?”

  The staff member then gestured to another worker and a floating screen went their direction. Rachel then browsed through the standard models and was stuck between the Garchomp model and the Salamence model.

  “We can also customize your model”, the staff member offered.

  Harrison then discreetly whispered to Rachel, “You can ask for a Poketch that can hold your Key Stone”

  She considered it seriously for a while but decided against it. They then left with her new Garchomp-themed Poketch. The new device set her back a bit in finances but it was within what she would spend in a month.

  “They seemed to recognize you in the store”, Rachel observed.

  “Well, I’ve been there quite a few times”, Harrison deflected.

  The week then flew by. They then went to the local PokeMart which although smaller than the Veilstone Department Store, was still quite sizable as the store occupied a 3 story warehouse. After replenishing the typical supplies of potions, Pokeballs, and battle related items, they explored camping equipment and supplies. She purchased a few tents which were compact but surprisingly sturdy along with cooking equipment. Afterwards, Rachel then began to impart her knowledge about journeying to Harrison such as packing instant and processed food to prepare for situations where food was not as accessible such as in the middle of the desert.

  He also showed her around the fashion district which flourished in Jubilife due to the frequent presence of celebrities that visited in between film shoots. In one store which specialized in trendy street fashion, they even passed by Nancy in her subdued outfit without that extravagantly flashy hairdo. If not for her light pink hair, he could have mistaken her for a regular girl. He noticed her gaze but as she didn’t reach out, he pretended to not have seen through her disguise.

  Having gone through a few stores, Harrison acquired a few minimalist shirts which could withstand terrible weather conditions, a jacket for the cold, along with boots for climbing and boots for the snow. As for Rachel, she purchased all and any clothing with a Dragon Pokemon on it or any with designs that resembled dragons. Some were quite tacky but she seemed to enjoy the novelty of their designs more than wearing them as her fashion sense was actually decent.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  They also visited bookstores and libraries for specialized information on Sinnoh. The internet had plenty of information as well but they were offered in a more casual format with the details offered by experts being relegated to the Pokedex, specific papers, and textbooks. They went through all the Pokemon that were considered native to Sinnoh, the cities they wanted to visit including a few which Harrison had never heard of as they were never featured in any form of Pokemon media, and the nature along the routes that they would need to go through. Harrison had also secretly confirmed that there were actual records of Gible being in the location he knew of.

  Occasionally, he was left to his own devices when she ran off to battle foreign Trainers at the Global Terminal. He took this time to conduct his own schemes but also had been challenged by a few Trainers, some new to Sinnoh and some decently experienced but nowhere near the level of a Conference Contestant. The rarest Pokemon a Trainer battled with was a Croconaw which he levitated with Maestro.

  Of course, it wasn’t just the two of them as Rachel had joined Christine in the Contest Hall and even competed, winning a ribbon for Sceptile’s coolness. She even taught Rollout to Gavin’s Seedot with the help of Cocoon who completely toppled a fully grown tree in his demonstration.

  Luckily trees didn’t take decades to grow as Grass type Pokemon sped up the process significantly. Otherwise, the world might’ve gone barren from the constant uprooting of plants in all the endless fights that Trainers would initiate.

  And when only a week remained before he would start his journey, Rachel decided to leave.

  “I had a great time”, Rachel said while standing near the doorway with her luggage ready for her departure.

  “I would offer to accompany you but I’m not at your level yet. I still need to experience my first journey with fresh eyes after all”, Harrison said with a slight smile. Nova then rushed forward and purred with tiny sparks as Rachel petted the little lion.

  “With how you act and battle, it’s easy to forget that you still have no badges”, she teased.

  “But I believe you will catch up and likely sooner than I can imagine - now that I think about it… you never mentioned your goal for the journey”, Rachel stated when she realized something.

  “My goal?”

  “Yeah, your goal. Every other kid impatient for their journey is always saying something like I’m gonna become the Champion, I’ll catch a legendary, I’ll become the best Dragon type Master, or a Pokemon Master. Whatever that means”, she stated.

  “Oh something like that… There are a bunch of things but my goal is to see what the world has to offer. I’m not aiming to become the next Champion but I will reach their level”, Harrison stated with confidence.

  “Ambitious and humble”, she said with a laugh.

  She then turned and opened the door.

  “I’m headed off then”

  “Until we meet again in Eterna”, Harrison stated, referring to his promise regarding Gible.

  “Then you better hurry because I won’t be waiting forever”, she said as she walked away.

  Harrison then stood and watched as she walked away and her silhouette became smaller and smaller with increasing distances until it passed the horizon as she completely left the city altogether.

  “Lux?”, Nova asked as Harrison still stood there even after she had long left.

  He then looked towards his Pokemon and patted the little lion’s head.

  “A journey… Do you think we’re ready, Nova?”, he asked softly.

  “Lux!”, the Luxio confidently affirmed with sparks.

  “Very well, then let’s do a bit more training while we still have the time. After all, who knows how hectic our journey will be”, he stated with way more enthusiasm than he usually expressed.

  He started strategizing for battle in anticipation of starting his journey and all the challenges he would be facing. Although most might not compare to Rachel, he believed there would be other formidable opponents. And those opponents would not be easily triumphed with just type advantages and higher levels.

  Actual Pokemon battles were far more difficult in reality because it was not a turn-based affair. Your opponent would not wait for you to find your bearings with the only guaranteed grace period being the first move which would be initiated by the referee. The Pokemon could actually dodge which consequently meant that moves which had low chances of landing such as Sheer Cold could be influenced by circumstances.

  The freedom of options enabled numerous responses which he could take advantage of. An attack could be more than just a move that struck. It could be parried, mitigated through dexterous motions, or allow for a counterattack.

  Then there was training which had far more impact. Even though IVs did seem to be a thing with well-bred specimens of the same species showing superiority compared to their wild counterparts of lower pedigree, the trainer truly made a difference as EVs were nonexistent and the ways in which Pokemon could grow was endless. The perfect example being Stratus and his flock which Harrison had trained. The constant exposure of electricity to the flock led to them developing a significant amount of resistance to electricity. The type advantage was noticeably mitigated as they got used to being shocked even if that did sound a bit like torture.

  But that also meant the truly strong Pokemon such as Cynthia’s Garchomp could not be defeated with just type advantages from a Pokemon of a higher level and maturity. It was truly a monster that could match up to a Legendary without any assistance.

  Harrison then grimaced.

  He would also have to account for the existential disparity between strong Pokemon and Legendary Pokemon. They weren’t just cool box-art monsters with a bit more base stats. They were the embodiment of natural disasters with the power to distort reality like gods.

  This was not a numbers game and he was guaranteed to encounter a Legendary. If any other Trainer believed this, it would have been pure hubris but he had the Adamant Orb. It was incredibly concerning as it didn’t drop out of the sky or was something he found somewhere. It had always been there with him as long as he had existed in this world. But it was still dormant and the time for it to be used would be later on.

  He then returned to watching his Pokemon train.

  Nova was attempting to push rocks with its ranged electricity. Rocks and pebbles were manageable but any stone larger than a head would barely budge. Afterwards, Stratus would toss pebbles in volleys at Nova and the little lion would attempt to stop the rocks from reaching with just electricity.

  Meanwhile, Magikarp was struggling with all its might to break Maestro’s psychic hold as he levitated the fish above and away from the pond in the park.

  Harrison marveled for a while at the fish floating in midair. No matter how many times he observed, the process had always felt magical to him. Creating something out of nothing, unleashing lightning from within, affecting the world with just your mind. The only thing truly believable was his bird hitting hard and flying fast. This was the world filled with wonder that awaited him and he couldn’t help but smile.