163: Return From Orange Islands

"After I handed in the pirate captain, I passed the exam. That's it."

Hisoka said to Ryoichi after taking a huge bite from the burger.

"Well, congratulations on becoming a gold-rank hunter. Cheers."

Ryoichi raised his glass.

At this time, they were hanging out in a nearby cafe, and he had just finished telling his story to Ryoichi, except for the part where he got the Garchomp egg. Ryoichi had a big mouth. He feared that would let him into trouble.

After finishing his food, he continued to engage in a casual conversation with Ryoichi.

"By the way, do you remember the Aerodactyl that was accidentally found in Grampa Canyon?"

At first, he was taken aback by Ryoichi's question, but then his face grew curious.

"Yes. Did something happen? I hope nothing went wrong."

Ryoichi shook his head, "Don't worry. It is still fine. It's just that something weird has occurred to it. Take a look at this."

Ryoichi handed him a couple of pictures of Aerodactyl.

"This?"

His eyebrows rose in surprise when he took a closer look at the pictures. The Aerodactyl in the pictures was undergoing a Mega Evolution.

"Surprising, isn't it? The researchers said that its dormant genes are awakening. Though some believed this is its true appearance."

Ryoichi explained, looking a little excited.

'Mega Evolve? But how? Don't you need a keystone and the corresponding mega stone for that?'

His mind began to wander. Mega Evolution was a secret only known by a few people now. Professor Sycamore had just become a professor. He probably was just starting his research on that topic.

This was a surprising find. Except for Mewtwo, he didn't know that Pokemon could Mega Evolve on its own.

"Hisoka!"

He snapped out of his thoughts after he heard Ryoichi calling him.

"Sorry for spacing out."

He said apologetically.

"It looks amazing. So, what did Professor Oak say about this."

He was quite curious about what Professor Oak would find. Can he see the mystery behind the sudden mutation on Aerodactyl?

"Professor Oak's opinion is the same as the others, but he said there must be something else that had caused this change."

Ryoichi replied after a moment.

"Well, that's what I thought too. Anyway, I can't wait to see it now after looking at these pictures."

He said with a thoughtful look.

***

Dark City.

"Thanks for dropping me off, Ryoichi."

He said after getting out of the car.

"No problem. I'll catch up with you next time."

As soon as the door was shut, Ryoichi sped off on the road. Watching the sports car gradually disappearing from view, he then turned around and began to walk.

Three weeks had passed since he went to the Orange Islands to participate in the gold-rank hunter exam. It was quite a memorable trip, if there was anything to say about it. He was starting to miss home.

As he walked through the streets of Dark City, the local residents were just about to start their day. A few people greeted him after recognizing him, to which he returned back.

After walking past a small forest, a building with the sign Dark Gym above the gate came into view.

As soon as he stepped into the gym, he heard a loud roar coming from inside. In the training ground stood an Ursaring. It had just finished knocking down a few Mightyena.

"Ursaring?"

He was a little surprised. How could there be an Ursaring in his gym? They could only be found in Johto.

The Ursaring in front of him looked majestic. Its broad body was covered in brow fur, and its claws glistened sharply.

"Hold on a second. Why does this Ursaring look familiar?"

He murmured to himself. He then suddenly recalled that Ran had a Teddiursa that she bought from the black market.

'Is this Ran's Ursaring?'

He rubbed his chin for a moment. He didn't expect that sneaky Teddiursa evolved while he was away.

He was starting to get worried now. Ursaring was dangerous when it had just evolved. How could a small girl like Ran hold this beast down?

---

(Ursaring's POV)

Feeling the gaze on his back, Ursaring quickly turned around. He was slightly started at first when he saw a human staring at him. But then, his eyes narrowed slightly with a grin.

'It's that guy. Now I can finally take my revenge on that rabbit. Muahaha.'

---

"Yo, this bear has gone nuts."

He watched stupidly as the Ursaring laughed with a manic look on his face.

"Roar!"

Ursaring suddenly choked and coughed several times. Cheeks blushing in embarrassment, Ursaring then let out a roar to him, followed by several hand gestures.

"Are you saying you want to challenge Buneary? Is that what you meant?"

He somehow understood what Ursaring was trying to say.

Ursaring nodded with a growl.

"Okay then, come out, Buneary!"

After saying that, he grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it out.

"Bu~"

Buneary appeared after the Pokeball popped open. She yawned cutely, rubbed her eyes, and looked around in a daze.

"Bu?"

Then, she turned to him and tilted her head in confusion. It seemed she had just woken up from her sleep.

"Roar!"

Ursaring beat his chest repeatedly after he saw her. Excitement gleamed in his eyes.

"Ursaring! What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Ran's voice rang out.

When everyone turned around, they saw Ran walking into the gym while hauling a cart loaded to the brim with berries and fruits.

In a flash, Ursaring quickly cleaned the mess he had made earlier in the training ground and sat down like a good little boy.

Hisoka: ...

As Ran walked in, she suddenly noticed Hisoka standing on the training ground. She dropped everything and ran to him.

"Hisoka! When did you come back?"

He smiled at her, "Just now."

"Welcome home. You should have told me earlier that you would be coming back. I would make something for you."

Said Ran with a pout.

He shrugged, "It didn't cross my mind."

"By the way, is this yours? When did your Teddirusa evolve?"

He asked while pointing at Ursaring.

"About a week ago. Thanks to his help, I was able to defeat many opponents."

Ran replied with a proud look on her face. She must be an Elite trainer like Hisoka, right?

"I'm going to prepare for lunch now. Do you want anything?"

Ran asked.

"It's fine. I'm going to unpack my beg first. There's a lot of stuff I need to sort out."

He lifted his bag and walked into the house, waving his hand.

After taking a nice cold shower, he went to the backyard and released all of his Pokemon. Fortunately, the pond was large enough to fit Milotic and Lapras together. He also took this time to meet up with Misdreavus and Onix. Both of them seemed to be doing just fine.

Onix had made its nest next to the gym. Ran told him that the Onix appearance scared a lot of people at first due to its large size. But over time, they got used to it. She had also seen him entertaining a couple of children that went to play with the Pokemon in the gym.

Misdreavus stayed inside the large bell most of the time. She only went out a couple of times a day before she returned. She probably was still absorbing the power left inside the bell.