"How was it? Convinced now?"
Walking out of the Pokémon League building, Norman smiled at Ace, "Still want to try being a Gym Leader?"
"Maybe when I'm stronger," Ace sighed, "Next, I'll rest in Goldenrod City for a while, then head to Mahogany Town."
"Not leaving right away?" Norman asked, somewhat puzzled.
"No rush," Ace shook his head, "After all, I'm going to train intensely soon. Before that, I need to relax properly. Goldenrod City is the most prosperous city, so I'll play around for a while."
Seeing Ace's smile, Norman also chuckled, thinking to himself: He's still a child after all, more focused on playing.
On their way back to Goldenrod City, under Ace's deliberate guidance, Ace and Norman chatted very congenially. Plus, Ace mentioned wanting to find a hotel to stay in first. Seeing this, Norman extended an invitation for Ace to stay at his house for a short period.
"Wouldn't that be inconvenient? I'm an outsider, after all," Ace said, a bit embarrassed, "And..."
"What's the big deal?" Norman clapped Ace on the back, saying heartily, "My kid is a big Pokémon battle fanatic too. Since you're a trainer, you can help me teach him a lesson sometimes."
Ace feigned deep thought, then nodded, "Alright, but I don't want to trouble you too much. I'll bring a gift for your son, Uncle Norman."
"No need, no need."
"You must! Otherwise, I won't stay."
After much back and forth, Norman conceded.
Ace smiled and followed Norman back to his house, a modest two-story building.
"Dad, take this!"
But as Norman opened the door, a Confusion attack greeted him. Norman was already used to it, but before he could react, the Crobat perched on Ace's shoulder moved. Its two pairs of wings crossed, unleashing a Air Slash that directly negated the Confusion.
"Who are you?"
His attack canceled, a scruffy little boy with two band-aids on his face looked warily at Ace.
"My son, Ruby. He's only six this year," Norman smiled at Ace, his eyes filled with doting affection for Ruby.
"He has this much strength at six years old?" Ace was surprised, glancing at Norman before sighing, "Like father, like son."
The little boy in front of him was Norman's son, Ruby, who would also be the male protagonist of the future Hoenn region storyline. It had to be said, Norman truly doted on his son. Six-year-old Ruby already had three starter Pokémon, and Norman even personally trained him. Later, Norman would even take the blame for Ruby, delaying his own appointment as Gym Leader for five years. According to Ace's observation, Ruby, at just six years old, already had a trainer level of about 10. This was an unbelievable level for his age.
"Ruru, come back."
A Ralts ran behind Ruby, looking somewhat shyly at Norman and Ace. The Confusion attack just now was its doing.
"Honey, you're back!"
Norman's wife, Caroline, walked out wearing an apron. Seeing Ace next to Norman, she asked, a bit surprised, "Do we have a guest?"
"Let me introduce you, this is Ace, a friend I just met. He plans to spend a couple of days in Goldenrod City and doesn't have a place to stay, so I invited him to stay with us for a while," Norman patted Ace's shoulder, then said to Caroline and Ruby, "Let's go inside and talk. Caroline, could you fry a few more dishes?"
"Okay," Caroline smiled, then returned to the kitchen to prepare.
Ace changed his shoes, then looked at Ruby, who was still wary of him. He pulled a small box from his pocket and handed it to Ruby, "Here's a gift for you. Feed these Pokéblocks to your Pokémon; they'll grow faster!"
"Really?!" Hearing Ace's words, Ruby was delighted, then looked at Norman.
Norman nodded to Ruby. He knew the effects of Pokéblocks.
"Thanks then, you're a good person." Ruby accepted the Pokéblocks, simultaneously giving Ace the "nice guy" card.
Ace temporarily settled in at Norman's house, though he didn't stay for many days. He just needed to establish the information that he was staying at Norman's house. After two days at Norman's, Ace bid farewell to the Norman family and headed towards Mahogany Town. After leaving Goldenrod City, Ace took a detour, then once again stealthily approached the Pokémon League building.
"Now, I've gone to Mahogany Town. This information can be relayed to the outside world through the Norman family's mouths."
Ace stood on a large tree in a forest, gazing into the distance at the research facility's location. Everything was now ready; all Ace had to do was wait. He opened his task panel and looked at the side quest Lorekeepers. The only Lorekeeper he could currently interact with was Zinnia. Therefore, to complete this quest, Ace had to meet Zinnia while she was setting up here.
The following time, Ace fell into waiting. However, to Ace's surprise, this wait lasted three days!
On the night of the third day, Ace was dozing, leaning against a tree trunk. Crobat swiftly flew to Ace's side, flapping its wings to wake him. Ace immediately roused, flipping to a crouch on the branch. Through the layers of leaves above, he saw a dark figure swiftly flying towards his location in the sky. As the dark figure drew closer, Ace finally made out that it was a Salamence, carrying a person.
"So, they've finally arrived..."
Ace murmured softly, leaping down from the tree. Then, without rush, he walked towards the Salamence's direction.
"Is that the place?"
Zinnia lay on Salamence's back, looking at the distant League building, a hint of hatred flashing in her eyes. But she also knew that with her own power, she couldn't break in there. She would likely be surrounded as soon as she got close.
"Salamence, I'm really counting on you this time."
Zinnia stroked Salamence with reluctance. She decided to have Salamence pretend to be a wild Pokémon to break in there, destroy the device as much as possible, and release Rayquaza.
Salamence slowly descended, and Zinnia jumped off its back.
"Zinnia, I will avenge you."
Zinnia looked at the distant building, the rage in her eyes seemingly enough to burn it to ashes!
"Hello there. It's a long night, and I can't sleep. Are you planning to destroy that building?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded behind Zinnia, startling her.
Zinnia abruptly turned around, only to see a boy had appeared behind her at some unknown time. Beside the boy was a humanoid Pokémon, its silvery-white skin gleaming in the moonlight!
"We can work together."
Ace grinned. Zinnia swore to the heavens that her intuition at this moment told her that the other party was not a good person!