Toward Orange Islands

"Are you sure you are not going to stay for a few more days?"

Hisoka was standing outside of Professor's Oak laboratory. Professor Oak, Ash, and his friends stood in front of him. They were sad to see him leave.

"I have been for too long. There are still many things in the gym that I need to deal with. If I have time in the future, I will come by to visit," Hisoka said to Professor Oak.

He then turned to Ash and said, "Good luck on your Pokemon League competition."

Ash nodded and said, "Thanks. I will win the competition for sure!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"Well. Goodbye then," Hisoka replied.

"Bye!"

After saying goodbye to them, he got on his bike and drove away.

A few hours later, he finally reached Dark City. Instead of heading back to his gym, he took a detour, heading toward a hill just next to his gym.

Finding a nice, secluded spot, he stopped his bike and sat on a rock, waiting for his new companion to arrive.

Soon, there was movement from the ground. With a loud rumbling sound, Onix came out of the ground. He looked around and found Hisoka waving at him.

"Just put them here, Onix," Hisoka pointed to the clearing where he was standing at.

"Onix!"

He moved his tail to the front and put two objects on the ground. It was the large bell and Hard Stone. Since he couldn't fit both of these items in his bag, he asked Onix to carry them here.

"Thank you, Onix. My gym is too small for you right now. You'll stay at this place first. I will come to see you later," Hisoka said, rubbing Onix's big head.

Onix nodded in response and returned to the underground tunnel he had made just now.

After that, he released his Gardevoir and told her to bring them back to his gym. Then, he got on his bike and drove to his gym.

As he walked into his gym, he could hear the sound of a battle happening inside his gym currently.

"Mightyena! Use Bite!"

"Bellsprout! Use Razor Leaf!"

Ran was standing in the arena, facing off against a young girl.

The girl looked nervous. It was obvious she was a rookie trainer.

Mightyena avoided the Razor Leaf and rushed toward the Bellsprout. He then ducked under Bellsprout's swing and bit down on the Bellsprout. It tried to break free, but Mightyena didn't let it go.

"Nice job Mightyena! Tackle it now!" Ran shouted.

Mightyena threw the Bellsprout away and tackled it with its head, knocking it out instantly.

"Bellsprout!"

The girl cried out in distress. She hurriedly ran to her Pokemon and picked up the unconscious Bellsprout into her arms. Since Dark Gym only used 1v1 battle, that meant she had failed her challenge.

"Bellsprout has lost the ability to fight. The winner is Ran from Dark Gym!"

A middle-aged man announced the result of the match. This man was the referee he hired a week ago. Although his ability was average, he was sufficient to be his gym referee.

'Thank you, Mightyena!" Ran walked out of the arena, rubbing Mightyena's back.

"Rarf!" Mightyena barked, wagging its tail.

"It was a good fight," Hisoka walked to them, clapping his hands lightly.

"Hisoka! You're back!"

"Rarf!"

Mightyena dashed toward Hisoka and circled around his feet, pleased that its master was back.

"You did great too, Mightyena," he said, patting its head.

'Why does it looks like a dog? Isn't it supposed to be a wolf?' he thought, amused.

"When did you arrive?" Ran asked.

"Just a few minutes ago," Hisoka replied. "I'm going to take a rest first. Oh yeah, Gardevoir is bringing something back. Tell her to put them in the storeroom."

"Okay," she nodded.

***

Time slowly passed by. In a blink of an eye, a week had passed since he returned from Pallet Town.

During this time, he did not find any news about the appearance of two giant Pokemon in Mount Hideaway. Obviously, the League had blocked the news from spreading out.

As usual, he got up early and went for his usual morning run. He also took this time to check up on Onix. After reassuring it that he would find a better place for it to live, he returned to his gym.

Right now, he was having breakfast with his Pokemon.

"Teddy! Come here! Give it back!" Ran was chasing Teddiursa, who was running around the house, trying to take the honey he had stolen from Beedrill.

After getting along for a few days, the relationship between Ran and Teddiursa had gotten a lot closer. At least he would obey her instruction now. Well, sometimes.

Meanwhile, Buneary sat next to Hisoka like a good little girl, nibbling a carrot. Gardevoir walked up to her, patted her head, and placed a small plate of Strawberry Pokepuff in front of her.

"Bu!"

Buneary let out a contented purr. Aside from Hisoka, Gardevoir, who had taken care of her when she was just born, was the second person she enjoyed being with.

Teddiursa was held in Ran's arms, biting the apple in his hand with an irritated expression. When he saw the dessert on Buneary's plate, he couldn't help but smirk. Quitely, he held the apple in his hand and threw it as hard as possible at the plate.

Swoosh!

Buneary's ears twitched slightly. She suddenly sensed that something was coming toward her. She quickly moved the plate away and kicked the apple.

The apple flew back and hit Teddiursa's head.

Bonk!

Roar!

He couldn't take it anymore as he struggled to escape from Ran's arms. He was going to fight with that rabbit now.

"Stop causing trouble!"

Ran knocked Teddiursa's head lightly and held him firmly. She then picked up another apple from the table hand and stuffed it into his mouth to stop it from causing a ruckus. She dared to do this now because Hisoka had already taught Teddiursa many lessons.

Seeing Hisoka's eyes staring at him, he shivered in fear as he recalled how Hisoka beat him up like a punching bag.

"Bu!"

Buneary snorted in disdain and continued to eat the dessert made by Gardevoir.

***

Hisoka's room.

Hisoka was sitting in front of his laptop, looking for some information about the giant bell on the internet. Suddenly, a news report playing on the television caught his attention.

"Breaking News: At 7.30 a.m today, a team of unidentified criminals tried to steal the torch from one of the torchbearers. Fortunately, thanks to the bravery of three young trainers, they managed to get it back."

"Charles Goodshow, the President of the Pokemon League Torch Committee, decided to reward the three young trainers by letting them serve as the last three torchbearers in recognition of their bravery."

On a crowded street, a man was running while carrying a torch in his hand. There was a large crowd cheering on both sides.

The most striking thing was the flame on the torch. It was a mix of red, yellow, and white. This flame was said to derive from Moltres and represent the ambitions and competitive spirits of all trainers. It had become a special feature of the Kanto League Conference.

The torch run had started more than a month ago. After receiving the fire at the Indigo Plateau, the flame must pass through every official gym in Kanto before going back. Only then the League competition would officially start.

"Next, we will be meeting the contestants who will participate in the compet-"

Beep!

"You have an email." A female voice came from his laptop.

He turned off the television and returned his attention to his laptop. He had no interest in watching the interviews. It would take some time before the competition started.

He opened the mailbox and clicked on the email.

"They sure work fast."

Hisoka quickly read the content of the email and made sure that nothing was missed. The email was sent by the Hunter's Association, and a serial identification number was attached at the bottom.

The requirement to become a silver-ranking hunter was simple compared to a gold-ranking hunter. You only needed to have an Elite Trainer Certificate and reach the number of task completion requirements.

Gold-ranking hunter test was completely different. They would test the all-around capability of a hunter. Only a strong trainer can complete the assessment test, such as teamwork, first aid, survival, and so on.

A hunter would have to pass these items with flying colors to become a gold-ranking hunter. Once they failed the assessment test, they would not be allowed to retake it within three years.

***

Vermilion City.

Maggie's figure could be seen on the screen. She was holding her only Pokemon, a Cleffa, which she and Suzie had run into during their trip to Pewter City.

"Take care Suzie. Sigh. If only I can join you guys. I've never been to Orange Islands," she said dejectedly.

"Don't worry. There will be next time," Suzie replied with a smile. "Besides, Hisoka is going to Kumquat Island for his test, while I'm going to Tangelo Island to participate in the Breeder Competition. Our schedule is tight."

Tangelo Island, where she was heading to, was the first Pokemon theme park in the world. In order to attract more tourists, the theme park would be holding a breeder competition.

This first breeder competition had received strong support from the League. The top three breeders would not only be able to receive prize money but also receive guidance from master breeders.

The two women chatted for a while before they said goodbye to each other.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hisoka," Suzie apologized embarrassedly.

Hisoka shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter. The ship hasn't arrived yet."

Yesterday, Maggie and Suzie stopped by his place to visit. While chatting among themselves, Maggie told him that Suzie was heading to Orange Islands to participate in the Breeder Competition. It just happened that he was heading to Orange Islands for his gold-ranking hunter assessment.

So they decided to go together.

Toot! Toot!

Hearing the ship horns coming from the dock, they carried their bags and headed toward the ship. A few minutes later, they finally saw the ship they would board. "Ocean Goddess" was written near the bow.

Although the name sounded majestic, the ship was a far cry from the sunken S.S. Anne.

Having learned the lesson from Team Rocket's attack last time, they were many guards stationed on the ship. He saw no less than fifty people dressed in black uniform clothes patrolling around the ship.

People were lining up as they embarked on the ship in an orderly manner. Earlier, he had also seen some people packing an inflatable boat into their bags. Clearly, the S.S. Anne accident was still vivid in everyone's minds.