A lot of interesting things happened this year.
First, Professor Elm was about to publicize his research on Pokemon abilities this year.
Second, the young Professor Sycamore, who had discovered the Mega Evolution, was excited to have his own laboratory.
Third, a lot of trainers were excited after the League had informed the public about a new Pokemon type, the Fairy type. What's amazing is this new type is immune to Dragon-type attacks. It seems a lot of Dragon trainers would lose their lofty status from now on.
...
Hisoka was walking through a forest. The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze. While the afternoon sun bathed the forest in its warm light. He could see a large building at the end of the forest.
Walking through the rusty gates, Hisoka finally saw the gym. There were a few broken decorations in the front yard, a remnant of an old era. The building was made from wood, except it was much stronger than the houses in the city, probably because it was specifically built for training Pokemon.
'This doesn't look bad at all,' Hisoka thought while looking around the gym.
Before he arrived, Hisoka thought this place was in a state of disrepair, but he never expected that this place would be so beautiful. Although the building was old, it just needed some repair work here and there, and this place would be fit for living.
'That 100,000 dollars is really worth it.'
Taking a deep breath, Hisoka began to walk into the gym.
The front door was locked, and the old signboard was hanging on one side. After being exposed to the sun and rain for a long time, the paint was almost gone. Hisoka can barely see anything on the signboard.
Then, Hisoka took out the key given by the Mayor and opened the lock on the door. His arms exerted a little force to push the front door. The door made a squeaking sound as Hisoka slowly opened the doors toward both sides.
After that, when Hisoka was about to step in through the door, Hisoka suddenly stopped. He seemed to have thought of something and quickly ran to the front porch. A small formed on his face as he looked at the crumbling signboard.
"Since I'm the new owner, I think it's time to change this old signboard," Hisoka said to himself.
After that, Hisoka jumped and pulled the old signboard from the wall and placed it aside temporarily. Then, with his hands in his pockets, Hisoka slowly walked into the gym.
The first thing that caught his eyes was the large training ground, about the size of a basketball court. Old and broken training equipment scattered across the ground.
"This should be where the previous owner trains their Pokemon."
Hisoka walked across the ground step by step. His eyes looked around the place, thinking if he should leave it as it was or build a new arena.
After that, Hisoka arrived at the main building of the gym, where the previous owner used to live. Due to years of neglect, the front yard was full of overgrown weeds, and many plants and flowers had died because there was no one to take care of them.
Meanwhile, the backyard had the largest area, about half an acre. According to Mayor Chris, this ancient building had a history of more than 100 years. Back then, there were still a lot of nobles in the Kanto region. But after the League came into power, the power of these nobles diminished greatly, leaving only a certain few families with great heritage. And the previous owner of this place descended from a noble.
Hisoka still liked the design of the backyard. There was a small garden on the corner with an open space where he could relax with his Pokemon later.
There was also a large pond near the garden, where Feebas could swim later. Hisoka still needed to clean it up first, though. The water was murky and full of moss.
All in all, Hisoka was quite satisfied with his new gym.
"This is my new home!" Hisoka raised both his hands in the air.
Hisoka could no longer contain his excitement. He also wanted to share it with his Pokemon. It would be a surprise for them.
"Come out, guys! This is our new home!"
Hisoka released all of his Pokemon one by one, except for Feebas, because of the dirty water. He would clean up the pond first and refill it with water before releasing her into the pond.
Water-type Pokemon can feel uncomfortable if they stay inside the Pokeball for a long time. That's why Hisoka always released Feebas out of her Pokeball if there was a water body around.
"Hisoka, is this our new home?" Kirlia's voice rang in Hisoka's mind.
"Yeah," Hisoka nodded with a smile.
At the same time, Hisoka also introduced his Pokemon to their new companion, Chansey.
Then, Hisoka turned to them and said, "We'll be staying here for a while. As you can see, we need to clean up our new house first, so let's get to work, okay guys?"
"Yes, master."
"Weavile!"
"Rhydon!"
"Chansey!"
...
The sun was high up in the sky. Hisoka and his Pokemon were working hard to clean up their new home.
Kirlia was standing in the yard. She raised both of her hands, and green energy leaves began to form around her.
Ha!
Kirlia let out a cry and pushed her hands down.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Accompanied by the sudden rush of air, the Magical Leaf spread around her body. The energy leaves kept flying in the air, cutting the overgrown weeds in the yard.
Under Kirlia's manipulation, each leaf became the most efficient lawn mower. Less than an hour later, all the weeds in the yard were cut by Kirlia, including the garden.
...
A black figure was shuttling among the trees at high speed.
Swoosh!
White lights flashed occasionally. Every time it happened, a tree would fall to the ground.
Thump!
The tree kicked up a cloud of dust as it hit the ground. On a closer look, it appeared that the tree was cut by something sharp at the base.
"Weavile!"
Weavile looked at her work and nodded in satisfaction.
She was sent by Hisoka to remove the trees around the gym. In front of her sharp claws, these trees were cut down like nothing at all.
Roar!
A roar came from her book. Weavile looked back and saw Rhydon pulling a big wooden pillar with a thick rope.
This wooden pillar came from the main house. And just in case it broke down, Hisoka asked Rhydon to demolish the whole pillar and throw it out. They were going to renovate the whole compound anyway. Might as well remove it now. This building had been abandoned for decades. He wasn't really sure if it would still hold.
It is quite dangerous, after all.
Rhydon raised his head and waved his hand toward Weavile, greeting her. He then threw the pillar on the ground. After that, he removed the tied rope and walked toward the trees that Weavile had cut before.
Both Weavile and Rhydon carried each tree into a pie and tied them all up.
Ho!
Looking at the large pile of trees in front of him, Rhydon rubbed his hands together. Taking a step forward, Rhydon took a deep breath. His strong arms held both ends of the rope and pushed his body forward.
Roar!
Gritting his teeth, Rhydon let out a roar as his body instantly exerted his strength. The terrifying power in his body burst out, and the pile of trees was pulled along with the Rhydon.
Step by step, Rhydon pulled the trees behind him, heading toward the gym.
...
At the same time, Hisoka was wearing a facemask, holding a broom and feather duster in both hands. Too much dust had been gathered inside the house over the years.
"Chansey!'
Chansey was behind Hisoka. She was also wearing a facemask, mopping the floor. At her feet was a bucket full of water mixed with soap.
Hisoka first used the feather duster to remove the dust on the window. Then, he quickly swept the floor, moving from one room to another with Chansey following after him.
It took a whole day for Hisoka and his Pokemon to clean the whole gym.
...
The sky was already dark. The night wind blew, rustling the trees.
"Ha! It's finished at last. I'm so tired."
Hisoka slumped against the cushions. Then, Kirlia slowly walked to Hisoka and leaned against Hisoka's shoulder.
After that, Weavile came to Hisoka. She put her hands behind her head and lay down on his lap. Hisoka's mouth twitched slightly, looking at his Pokemon's antics.
'Ah, forget about it,' Hisoka thought while closing his eyes.
Since Chansey had just joined the team for a few days, she was still a little shy around Hisoka. She just sat silently in the room, looking at Kirlia and Weavile enviously.
Rhydon also wanted to join in the fun, but with his size and weight, the wooden floor wouldn't be able to hold his weight,
After the gym was cleaned up, the next step was to furnish the place.
First impressions are important, or so they say. Since Hisoka wanted to win the official Gym qualifications, he had to show that his gym was above the standard.
Still, Hisoka would try to preserve some things inside the gym if it was possible. It still had an old history of more than a hundred years. Hopefully, this would add some points among the city residents.
...
Since it was impossible to buy a lot of building materials in this city, Hisoka could only ask for help from Ryoichi.
"You wanted to buy some building materials? And some furniture too?" On the other end of the phone was Ryoichi.
"Yeah, can you send them to Dark City? I'll send you the money soon," replied Hisoka.
"Wait! There's no need to pay. I'll help you. We have a lot of building materials here at the site. I'll just ask the driver to stop by at Celadon City to buy some furniture for you and transport them tomorrow."
Hisoka smiled and said, "Thanks, Ryoichi. And by the way, aren't you afraid that the League will find out about this later?"
Hisoka asked curiously.
"What does it matter? It's no big deal. I'll just write some excuse later in the report," Ryoichi said casually, drinking his cold beer.
...
Hearing Ryoichi's reply, Hisoka didn't refuse his kindness. Since Ryoichi refused his payment, Hisoka could only accept it.
And obviously, after preventing the Diglett invasion yesterday, Ryoichi's career was getting better. He told Hisoka that League was satisfied with his performance this time. There was some talk about reinstating him back into as an officer, but it would take some more time to review his later performance.
The League had also allocated a lot of funds to the reservoir management, urging them to complete the project as soon as they could. They also prepared some compensation due to the loss caused by the Diglett infestation.
'This guy must have exaggerated many things in his report,' Hisoka chuckled secretly.
Hisoka was quite clear about this point. The previous funds given by the League were enough to complete the reservoir on time. In any case, he was quite sure that a lot of those extra funds went into his pockets.
Yet, Hisoka just kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything. This kind of thing was commonplace anywhere. As long as you aren't too greedy and complete your task on time, the League won't care about this trivial amount of money.
And Hisoka didn't want to sell out his friend either. What's the point? And Hisoka knew even if he told the League about this, Ryoichi, at most, would be reprimanded. Then, Hisoka would lose a good friend that was willing to help him out.
...