When they returned to the beach, the Sun had already set and everybody had already left the beach. Lapras then raised its head and shouted, likely alerting its Trainer.

  “What a long day”, Jessica exclaimed as she stretched. The many hours on Lapras made the space feel cramped.

  “Indeed, it wa- Achoo!”, Lucas began before sneezing. He had been chilled by the ocean breeze for too long and did not have the immunity that resulted from frequent exposure to the elements.

  Harrison just looked down and his pants were worn to the point that they should be discarded. His nifty spatial backpack was unscathed though.

  He then returned Lapland to its Pokeball and turned to head towards the Town.

  Their stomachs then collectively growled as they had left around lunch time which meant they only ate breakfast and had subsisted off of it for the entirety of the sea expedition. That and a bit of snacks which Harrison carried with him but nothing filling or substantial.

  “Seems I’ve arrived just on time. The Professor already has a reservation ready”, Harold said right as he arrived.

  The three then turned to look at the Ace Trainer.

  Harold then took notice of Jessica and his eyebrow raised.

  “I was going to explore independently but a guide appeared so I accepted”, Harrison said with a shrug. He then handed Lapland’s Pokeball over to Harold.

  “The more the merrier, I suppose. You joining?”, Harold asked the teenage Swimmer.

  “Thanks for the offer but I need to confirm with my group first”, Jessica stated and got on her Poketch to contact her friends. They had already told her that they already ate dinner while she was still on the open sea with Lapras but she still needed to make sure that the itinerary for the rest of the day was empty.

  “Although I did say dinner, you guys should clean up first”, Harold stated. Jessica only had her swimwear, Lucas did not prepare for the ocean, and Harrison had pants that had been unravelled by the seawater. They looked like they could have been shipwrecked.

  “We’ll be at the Clamperl’s Bounties”, he stated before leaving.

  Harrison and Jessica headed towards the Pokemon Center while Lucas headed home to change.

  “Returning to the circuit soon?”, Harrison asked.

  “Nope, another week of beachtime at the very least. Wouldn’t make it in time for this year’s Conference anyways”, she jested. The Lily of the Valley Conference registration process likely already started and the tournament would begin airing at the end of the month. Those who didn’t already have their 7th badge by now would not qualify anyways.

  “I suppose. No need to rush what’s already passed”

  “Yup. Although the second half will be rough for me. I don’t stand a chance against Volkner”

  “Indeed. Either change your type obsession or get a Chinchou that can solo the Elite Four”, Harrison joked.

  “That’s as likely as you hugging Shellos”, she retorted, conjuring images of ooze and people turning into slugs in his mind.

  He grimaced.

  “As much as I love Cynthia, I will not stomach Gastrodon”, he stated.

  “I’ll keep that in mind when you become an Ace Trainer. Quadruple weak to slime”, she joked.

  The two then headed into the Pokemon Center after exchanging Poketch contacts.

  The Pokemon Center provided medical services along with lodging for Trainers. Although the Pokemon Center did provide lodging for non-Trainers as well, Trainers had privileges like reserved rooms with more space and privacy while non-Trainers usually had to make do.

  The medical services from the Pokemon Center were top notch but the lodging was made to be more basic and functional. The quality of the facilities depended on the Pokemon Center in question as they varied according to the location they were based in. They also had free food but often encouraged visiting Trainers to try out local cuisine and help out the economy of the places they visit. Additionally, not all Pokemon Centers were in similar buildings with some being skyscrapers, museums, and even combining with other businesses depending on the location such as Veilstone which was higher tech, Oreburgh which had a direct connection to the mines, or Jubilife which provided screenings of popular and obscure media to increase exposure to local productions.

  Harrison then headed to his room which had been reserved by Harold. After a brief but thorough cleaning, he then changed into his casual wear of a T-shirt and new pants and headed out.

  The restaurant was a few blocks away and two blocks into the walk, he met up with Lucas and Jessica. She no longer looked like she went to the beach every other day with swimming as her primary pastime.

  The trio then headed into the restaurant. A Clamperl was placed on the counter next to the desk where they paid and confirmed reservations.

  Already at the table sat Professor Rowan, some of the lab assistants, the Ace Trainer, and a Gym Trainer from Eterna City who had arrived to retrieve the Trevenant. The Pokemon could have been transferred through the PC but apparently they wanted to check out the habitat where the Phantump and Trevenant resided for more information on how to handle the Pokemon along with their preferences. The Gym Trainer wanted to see if there were any similarities to Bewilder Forest which oddly had a population of Stantler which was rare in Sinnoh.

  Dishes of calamari, sashimi, clams, and even jellyfish were served. Of course, these dishes weren’t Pokemon but they did have a few delicacies which were from Pokemon such as the final dish. Their final dish was one big Klawf claw which originated from Paldea, the reason why it was so pricey. Klawf claws were dropped when the huge crab Pokemon was defeated in the wild and were not obtained from slaughtering the creature. The claw was huge and the meat from one was enough to satisfy the whole table. Klawf wasn’t strictly seafood as it lived near cliffs but the fact that it was a crab was what mattered to the restaurant.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Jessica then took pictures of the crab claw and her actions suggested that the dish was not within the budget set by her group.

  Harrison had assumed the Professor would ask him about what occurred during their ocean voyage but the mood and conversations were quite casual in nature. Occasionally something scientific was brought up and they would briefly discuss the topic.

  Lucas talked a lot about the battle, the Pokemon they saw, and also the ones they caught.

  Harrison then mentioned that he caught a Magikarp and Harold laughed.

  “Those things take A LOT of patience to raise”, he said.

  Professor Rowan then seemed to consider something before he spoke.

  “Why did you choose a Magikarp out of all the Pokemon you encountered today?”

  He then turned to the Professor and said, “It sought power despite being so weak. It even left the water without being enticed by a fishing rod”, which caught their attention as although Magikarp were weak and incredibly common, they were still encountered at the end of a fishing rod or while in the water. Harrison implied that neither of these were the case and the Magikarp had willingly left the water of its own volition.

  “It occurred to me that my offer was a bit lacking as I provided you a Pokedex but no Starter. This will have to do for now but it will benefit your chosen Pokemon immensely”, the Professor said as he took out an item. A special device that resembled a metal wireframe helmet with lights that would be held or perhaps worn by a Pokemon.

  An Exp. Share.

  Harrison smiled as he would no longer need to leverage his connections at the TV Station.

  Exp. Shares were well sought after as can be inferred from their position right under the second place prize which was the valuable and rare Max Revive. Of course, the Master Ball wasn’t actually the Grand Prize and instead, a substantial amount of money which equated to nearly two years’ worth of a decent salary was offered to the winner in its place.

  The Lotteries in this world weren’t as insane with the numbers but that might partially be due to money being inferior to Pokemon and many other aspects of life having more value. Who cared about some stupid pieces of paper when there were creatures that literally ruled over space and time? Some could even freeze entire cities and the value of dollar bills would subsequently vanish faster than a teleporting Abra.

  They then returned to Jubilife on the next day.

  He was already an Official Trainer but he was not in a rush to begin his journey. There was another month of school and then he’d spend the last month preparing before he joined the rest of Jubilife in beginning the circuit.

  “You got to go to the beach!? You don’t even like the water”, Christine complained indignantly.

  “We all had to head home early afterwards”, Gavin stated disappointedly.

  “That’s expected after having a Pokemon go on a rampage”, Harrison stated.

  “But you got a Pokedex out of it!”, she pouted.

  He then stopped walking and turned to face them.

  “Is that why you’re following me?”, Harrison asked.

  She nodded while Gavin sighed.

  “I’m only here because she didn’t want to get distracted and needed reminding of the goal”

  Harrison ruminated for a while before deciding against it. Perhaps the two could handle horror but their reactions during the camp incident didn’t give him any confidence. Besides, the rating might be 18+ or Restricted depending on how the film would be received by the public.

  “I’m busy today but I can treat you guys to a movie or something on the weekend”, Harrison offered.

  “That and some training. Seedot has been antsy after being defeated in one blow”, Gavin requested.

  Harrison agreed and the two left with Christine being reluctant and still miffed about missing the ocean.

  Good thing, I didn’t mention Lapras, Harrison thought. She would have been livid.

  He then thought about inviting Logan as well for his help. As for Miss Julie, she apparently got awarded for her bravery. That and he didn’t have much to offer an adult.

  Harrison wasn’t a generous person. He just thought that it was a good excuse to celebrate before they all left on their own separate journeys. He didn’t expect them to travel together and he probably would be more solitary as expected of one with his personality. Privacy was necessary for certain issues which he could not divulge. Such as the Plate in his possession.

  He then arrived in front of one of the many buildings which were owned by the media conglomerates. It was not the TV Station as the purpose of that was to be conspicuous while these were practical and not meant for publicity.

  Entering the code sent to his Poketch, the door opened to a big lobby. At the center of the lobby, a receptionist greeted him before directing him towards the correct theater.

  This place wouldn’t be so luxurious if not for the heavy emphasis on media, Harrison thought.

  Although there were bigger cities in other regions, they all had more than one focus. Lumiose, Nimbasa, Mauville, Castelia, and Goldenrod were all bigger and had gyms with 3 of them being Electric Type Gyms.

  Lumiose had art, technology, and their famous Prism Tower which was surprisingly the location of their gym. Nimbasa had tons of entertainment with music and their amusement park, an entire subway system which was extensive enough for trains to be dedicated to battle, along with fashion with Elesa at the helm. Mauville had been redeveloped to be an indoor city like a mall with a focus on technology and even had an extension called New Mauville which originally was supposed to be an underground city. Castelia was filled with skyscrapers and was the heart of business in the already very populated region of Unova, which even had obscure places such as Black City. There was also Goldenrod which had an extensive radio network, Department Stores, a Magnet Train line to Saffron, and more.

  Not to mention Wyndon which held the Stadium for Galar’s Championships and Mesagoza which held the humongous educational institutions of Paldea.

  All of this was to illustrate how lackluster Jubilife City truly was. The largest city in Sinnoh which only had a part in the UI feature of the games, some media presence, and a Quick Claw. It had some significant history but that did not matter as he had not been bestowed the Arc Phone.

  It could be due to the lack of Gyms as they were placed to the side with Canalave to the left and Oreburgh to the right but that did not matter. The lackluster city resulted from the way locations were designed in earlier games and that had been translated to reality. Thus, the single Jubilife TV Station became the centerpiece of multiple media conglomerates.

  And so he would use what he had. Not for fame. A bit for fortune. But mainly to connect because he would likely need all the help he could get.

  Whatever Dialga had in store wouldn’t be easy as it had become as elusive as Giratina.

  Time and space were recognized as connected but only Palkia was the defining legend of the region. Palkia and the Lake guardians. Some even conflated its power as ruling both time and space but it too had been absent.

  As for Arceus, only the name was remembered.