The celebrations lasted in Pallet Town for three days, and Leaf was overwhelmed by the support of the people, who sent her a lot of gifts.
She personally visited every house in the town to thank them for their gifts, and when she returned to the Laboratory in the evening of the fourth day, her friends laughed at how tired she looked.
Leaf just rolled her eyes and sat next to Aizen on the sofa, and then smiled at him.
"Iris told me that you plan on participating in the Lumiose Conference the year after and that you will be journeying through Kalos next year."
"Yes," he nodded, and Ash excitedly informed him that he was going to Sinnoh for his next adventure.
Gary had shared a lot of exciting things about the region with them all, and the boy was now itching to see it all for himself.
"But first, I am taking on the Orange League Challenge and the Battle Frontier!"
"Best of luck." Aizen smiled at his enthusiasm and then laughed when the little Chimchar, whom Ash had chosen, used Ember on its Trainer because he was not paying attention to it.
What happened next made them all laugh even harder as Ash started running around the room, trying to save himself from his Pokémon.
And then Pikachu joined in the fun too as it decided to electrocute its Trainer for no reason.
"Lumiose Conference takes place in the fourth month of the year, so you will have 15 months to travel through Kalos." Risa, who was checking the information on her PokéNav+, smiled.
"Yes. And what's your plan after winning the Battle Frontier this year?" he teasingly asked.
"I hope I win."
"Keeping faith in yourself is very important." Anira smiled at her.
Risa nodded her head and then smiled at Aizen.
"I and Misty are going to travel through Hoenn next year. She and I are both going to challenge the Hoenn Battle Frontier, and then she wants to win the Water Queen Festival and I want to win the Fire Queen Festival. Sabrina and Iris are coming with us too. She wants to win the Ever Grande Conference next year, and Iris likes travelling with her."
As soon as Ash heard those words, he became very excited and stopped in his tracks.
"Awesome!"
The discussion continued for several minutes, and Ash finally looked at Leaf, who was staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"Where are you going next, Leaf?"
"Nowhere." She absently answered and then smiled as she sat straight up.
"I am taking the next eighteen months off to help my Mum with the Breeding Farm and to get the Golden Perks on my Licence by taking the Pokémon Breeder's Examinations."
"Oh, isn't Misty taking the same exam in the month after?"
"Yup," the Orange Waterflower nodded her head. "Brock is taking it as well, so you will have to wait for him to get free or you can travel through the Orange Islands on your own."
"That's fine. I plan on leaving next week, so I will see you guys after you have passed your exams and I have won the Orange League Challenge." He nodded his head and then smiled at Anira and May. "You two will be starting your journey next year."
"Yup! I am going to win the Kanto and Johto Battle Frontier, the Orange League Challenge, and also participate in the first ever Silver Grand Festival." May excitedly said, and Aizen smiled at her enthusiasm.
"Best of luck."
"Thank you." She sweetly smiled at him and then grinned at Ash. "Anira is going to win both the Indigo and Silver Conferences next year."
"Awesome!"
Everyone smiled when Ash did not show a hint of doubt and sincerely wished Anira the best of luck.
It was quite a remarkable quality of his, and everyone appreciated it a lot.
Aizen knew that Misty planned on taking on the Orange League Challenge after her exams next month. She had built a nice team of Pokémon, and she was confident that she could win.
However, the real reason why she wanted to win the Orange League Challenge was that she wanted a Charmander from the Charicific Valley and accompany Leaf there, as she would be picking up her Charmander before the end of this year.
Aizen too was tempted to quickly clear the challenge and get a Charmander. Yes, he wanted one more, especially after being around Sabrina's Charizard X and Y. However, he did not have the time right now. Maybe he would find one in Kalos. After all, the Charizard line was also found in that region.
"Rio…" "Rio…"
Two Riolu suddenly jumped up into his lap and sat down, and Aizen happily scratched their heads.
Leaf smiled when she saw her Pokémon receiving love from him, and it made her feel warm in her heart.
What made her smile even more was that her Riolu was a female, and she was the little sister of Aizen's Riolu, which meant that they were naturally very close to each other.
Seeing the two Riolu receiving love, someone was, however, very jealous.
"Chimchar…!!"
Everyone laughed when the little Chimchar used Ember on Ash again. It was hilarious how exhausted the boy seemed from his Pokémon, but they smiled too when he grabbed the little monkey and lovingly scratched its head.
The Orayen Prince then excused himself and checked up on Professor Oak, who was busy with his research on Ancient Pokémon.
And there, the Professor made his request.
"Please send me a Tyrunt and Amaura when you head to Kalos."
"No problem, Professor. I will send you a pair of both."
"Thank you." Professor Oak brightly smiled at him and then shared his research on the Ancient Pokémon and also asked for his input.
Once the two got involved in the discussion, they did not even realise how quickly time passed.
If Hilda had not come and dragged them to the dinner table, they would have probably stayed chatting the entire night.
They could not help it even at the table but stopped when they saw how Miss Oak was narrowing her eyes at them.
"When are you heading back to Blanc Kingdom, Aizen?" she asked, and the Orayen Prince smiled at her.
"Tomorrow. Ilene and Alex are already there, and since Leaf wants to explore Blanc Island, I will be taking her with me."
The girl at his side sweetly smiled at his words.
"I want to explore it again!" May declared, and he smiled at her.
"Don't you have your Licence Exam to prepare for?"
"I am already prepared." She grinned at him. "Anira and I are going to take the Licence Exam privately. We have already paid for it. And it's in three days."
Aizen looked at the girl in surprise and then at his sister.
"We are putting our research on hold until we find some more conclusive evidence to support our hypothesis…"
Daisy and Hilda informed him, and he nodded in understanding.
Since Anira wanted to challenge both Indigo and Silver Conferences, and May also planned on taking part in the first ever Johto Grand Festival, it was a good decision to take the exam privately two months early.
The only issue with such exams was that they were tougher than usual yearly examinations, and by taking them, you would be giving up the opportunity to get the trademark starters of your respective region from the Official Laboratories.
However, the advantage was that you would get the result on the same day.
Aizen had taken the exam privately as well, and it was why he did not have any of the Hoenn starters with him.
"Did your father approve of it?"
"Yup. He was happy."
Aizen raised his brow at her and then frowned.
May became a little tense under his gaze and lowered her head.
"Why did you make this decision?" he gently asked her, and she hesitated.
However, Anira answered him on her behalf.
"There are only three spots for being sponsored by the Birch Laboratory, and May did not want to take up one as her friends need it more. Her cousin, Brendan, is also hoping to get sponsored by the Birch Laboratory…"
May blushed when Anira told everyone why she had made such a decision, and everyone felt very warm in their hearts at how kind she was.
"Besides, she does not plan on starting her journey in Hoenn, so it's better." The Princess finished explaining all of her friend's reasons, and May pouted at her.
"Where did you apply for the exam?" he asked, and they both smiled at him.
"LaRousse City."
"Of course." He chuckled, knowing well that they chose this city because he had taken his exam there.
After dinner, Aizen booked their seats on a flight from Celadon City to LaRousse City for the next evening, and they all went straight to bed.
He made a call to Ilene, who was at the Blanc Palace, and informed her that he would be a few days late.
After spending most of the day playing around and exploring the corral, the girls were all set, and they had packed their things, ready for their journey. The Prince smiled when he saw all three of them waiting outside the Laboratory when he came out.
May and Anira were holding their Pokédexes, which did not have their licences on them yet. They had been gifted to them by Professor Oak, and whilst the Princess's Pokédex was violet and silver, May had a red and black one.
They happily showed the devices to him, and he smiled at their enthusiasm before he called out their rides.
Leaf sat down with him on his Aerodactyl, Anira took May with her on the back of his Mega Pidgeot, and then the two avian Pokémon raced towards Celadon City.
At 9 p.m., they boarded their flight and took their seats in the First Class cabin.
It was the first time for Leaf to travel on an aeroplane, and that too in First Class, so she was clearly the most excited of them.
Their journey lasted for twelve hours, and when they landed at the LaRousse Airport, it was an hour before dusk of the same day in that part of the world.
May and Leaf were both in a trance after seeing the beautiful and technologically advanced city from the sky.
As they saw the moving walkways and the swarming Block Bots, who both kept the city functioning and guarded it, they were even more amazed that such a place existed.
Their shock, however, only deepened when they arrived at the LaRousse Central Pokémon Center that was adjacent to the Ruby and Sapphire Council Center, where they would be taking their exam.
The Pokémon Center was a tall tower, and it had an Official Poké Mart, as well as a small arena behind it, which had four training fields.
On the left of it was the LaRousse City Gym, and on the right of it was the LaRousse City Contest Hall.
A little distance away, to the north of the Center, was the world famous LaRousse City Battle Tower.
The girls excitedly followed him to the top most suite of the Pokémon Center, and they could see the entire city from this height.
And once they had their meal, Anira, May, and Leaf rushed to the Poké Mart to buy everything they needed for their journey, and a new set of Poké Balls.
His sister took his Membership Card with her to avail the discounts.
It was a good thing that she was using it because it would expire at the end of the year.