Nearly a week had passed in the blink of an eye. The New Year's celebrations had not yet fully faded, but David was already getting ready to head out again.
For most of the holiday, he had done little more than eat, sleep, and play video games at home. He barely stepped outside, aside from joining a few Pokémon battles here and there. For someone who had spent the past six months training his Pokémon every single day, lounging around like that felt a little strange.
And it wasn't just him feeling restless. His Pokémon were growing impatient too — all of them except Shelgon, who was quietly building up evolution energy and never much cared for moving around anyway. The others, especially Lucario, were practically climbing the walls from boredom. Even their favorite Pokémon fighting game had lost its appeal after a while.
So, after a little more than a week at home and the seventh day of the New Year behind him, David grabbed his things and headed out — no plan, no destination, just the open road.
"Finally out. But where am I actually going?"
He walked without any real direction, turning the question over in his head. Winter break was nearly over; school would be starting in less than a week.
Next semester should be a lot more interesting, he thought.
He had heard from a reliable source that the school would begin forming a team for the high school Pokémon League as soon as the new semester started. The exact dates hadn't been officially announced yet, but his parents had given him a rough idea — sometime in May.
The New Year had come early this year, which meant school would resume around mid-February. That left the team roughly three months to prepare.
Not that David was particularly worried. With his current strength, there was no chance he would be left off the roster. Based on past years, the squad would include around twenty members — starters and substitutes combined. After the mid-term battles last semester, everyone's skill level had already been made pretty clear. Barring any surprises, the core of the team would be the experienced Trainers from Class One, with a few others filling out the substitute spots.
"After the League, I might actually get a proper vacation," David thought, though his priorities were a little different from most of his classmates.
As he had come to understand, top universities would extend early admission offers to outstanding students right after the high school League. Given where David stood as a Trainer, that was essentially a done deal for him. It meant he could skip the usual college entrance exam rush entirely — once the League wrapped up, he was free.
"The League should end by mid-June at the latest. Registration doesn't open until early September. That's a solid three months." He nodded to himself. "This time, I can actually take a real trip."
The winter break journey had been good, but it felt rushed. With three whole months to work with, he could even consider going abroad. And by then, Shelgon would almost certainly have evolved — with a Salamence, getting around would be a completely different story.
Soaring through the sky on Salamence's back. The thought made him smile.
"Wait — am I forgetting something?"
He stopped walking and thought for a moment.
"...Oh. The Gym." He pressed a hand to his forehead. "I was supposed to get four badges this holiday. I'm still one short!"
At that moment, he happened to notice a small beverage shop along the street. A cheerful illustration of a Bounsweet was painted on the sign above the door. David walked straight in, ordered a fruit drink sweetened with Bounsweet nectar, and settled into a seat to think things through.
He had first tried that flavor during his trip to Efo Province for the Hundred Flowers Gym, and it had stuck with him ever since. This time, the taste brought back the memory easily.
Too far away won't work, he reasoned. With school starting in just a few days, a long journey back and forth would eat up too much time. Ideally, he needed a Class One Gym in a nearby region — somewhere he could get there, challenge the Gym, enjoy a bit of the scenery, and be back within three or four days.
He opened the Trainer's Edition of the regional map app on his phone. The Alliance had developed it specifically for Trainers — it marked Gyms, dojos, and training grounds across the region, and showed real-time updates on competitions and local events. Very handy.
"Ice City... a bit out of the way. Miron City... distance is manageable, but let me keep looking..."
"That one."
After a careful search, David settled on his target.
Belon City in Lufo Province. Its Azure Wave Gym was a Class One Gym — exactly what he needed. Better still, it was only about half a day's train ride from the Imperial Capital. And according to the app, a traditional festival honoring the Sea God was currently underway there. If he left now, he would arrive just in time to catch it.
That settled it. A Gym challenge and a seaside festival. David didn't hesitate any longer. He bought a train ticket to Belon City on the spot and called a Corviknight taxi to take him to the station.
He had grown quite used to Corviknight as his go-to transport ever since the world had changed. For anything and everything, he would call one — the poor Pokémon practically had the schedule of a full-time worker because of him. Not that David minded. Once Shelgon evolved, that would change anyway.
"Speaking of which," he thought, a new question surfacing, "when Shelgon evolves, I'll need to get a flying license, won't I?"
Riding a flying Pokémon wasn't something any Trainer could just do on a whim. Much like getting a vehicle license, flying required passing a proper assessment — except that instead of testing the Trainer on driving rules, the assessment focused almost entirely on the Pokémon itself. The flying Pokémon had to complete a period of certified training before it was cleared to operate within city limits.
Out in the wilderness, of course, no one was going to stop you. But flying in the wild came with its own risks — if your Pokémon wasn't strong enough or trained well enough, there was every chance you'd be intercepted mid-air and knocked straight out of the sky by another Trainer's Pokémon. Not a pleasant thought.
I should find some flight certification preparation videos for Shelgon to watch, David thought. A bit of pre-study never hurts.
Shelgon's eagerness to evolve and finally spread its wings was no secret. Surely it would be happy to learn what came next.
Inside its Poké Ball, Shelgon — fast asleep — let out a small, inexplicable sneeze.