Alex boarded the ferry in the afternoon of the next day, quietly reminiscing about his wild night with Nessa. He wouldn’t say he was disappointed, but he had to admit she was a lightweight. It seemed he had been spoiled by the girls who regularly trained to raise their bodies’ strength to match their rank.

Then again, they did swap out on rotation, which allowed them to keep up with him. It just went to show how much effort they put in to satisfy his relentless sexual desires.

On that note, there were women who simply stood above the rest when it came to taking everything he could give. There was Clarissa, who had a surprisingly wild side; Marnie, who eagerly accepted everything he had to offer, no matter how spent she was; and Maylene, who was, simply put, a physical powerhouse.

It put into perspective that even a Champion ranked physique wasn’t always enough to bridge the gap when it came to sex. They had to be as hungry as he was, which Nessa simply wasn’t able to match.

Once Alex entered his cabin on the ferry, he decided to simply relax for the duration of the trip. It was supposed to last an entire week, given how far the island was from mainland Galar, so he had plenty of time to rest his body.

After all, he was about to spend an unknown amount of time on the Isle of Armor, training to improve his physique under a Master’s guidance. He didn’t know what to expect, so it was best to be at his peak when it began.

A week later, Alex arrived at the island’s southern port early in the morning, overlooking a beautiful white beach filled with martial artists in yellow and black gi performing basic katas. There were easily over a thousand of them in formation, practicing their punches and kicks while facing the southern sea.

At the lead was a slender, fit, beautiful young woman with tan skin, gray eyes, and neck-length gray hair styled in a voluminous bob cut. Based on her physique, Alex could tell she was at the peak of Champion rank, which would be an interesting challenge for him to fight. Beside her stood a Machamp, mimicking her movements and demonstrating for over a thousand martial artists.

When Alex disembarked, he took note of the crowds stepping off alongside him. There were groups of children who looked like they had just graduated high school, older men and women of intimidating stature wearing gi whose battle intent made them seem like children in an amusement park, and clusters of tourists taking pictures as a guide led them along.

It was plain to see that the island leaned heavily into commercialization, likely to cover the cost of resources and maintenance. Providing a modern standard of living for so many people was quite expensive, after all.

Looking around, Alex could tell the island was mostly untamed wilderness for the most part. However, given how freely the tour guides moved around, it was obvious that the strongest Pokémon on the island were under Mustard’s control. This would prevent floods while also allowing people to train against them freely without fear of death.

Following the crowd heading north over a bridge, Alex was met with a wide view of the island. Most of it was covered in tall, rugged mountains, with two large wooden towers rising on the left and right, both nearly matching the surrounding peaks in height.

Straight ahead, above a terraced slope at the entrance to a valley, stood a traditional Japanese-style building. It was about three stories tall and roughly the width of a gym, making it closer in scale to a small stadium than a single structure.

Around the property, fields of vegetation stretched out in neat sections, worked by both people and Pokémon. The most noticeable were clusters of red mushrooms with flat caps marked by a white spiral. If he wasn’t wrong, these were the famous Max Mushrooms. When prepared correctly, they allowed Gigantamaxing, an advanced form of Dynamaxing that altered certain Pokémon’s physiology upon transformation.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Isle of Armor,” a loud female voice called out from the front of the gathered crowd that had just disembarked and made its way over. “My name is Klara, and I personally welcome you to the island. Unfortunately, the Master of the Dojo, Mustard, is not available to meet you; however, your tour guides are more than competent enough to answer all of your questions. Now, off you go and have fun.”

The crowds of tourists took pictures as they were ushered to the left to begin a tour of the surroundings. Meanwhile, the fresh graduates and professional martial artists, along with Alex, stayed behind and were directly addressed by Klara.

She was a young woman with a distinctly flashy, idol-like appearance designed to stand out. She had long, wavy light pink hair styled in twin tails, tied with oversized decorative accessories. Her eyes were sharp and expressive, carrying a mix of charm and self-assured confidence. She wore the typical yellow and black gi, modified with added dramatic flair. The overall impression Alex had of her was that she was deliberately striking and theatrical, though the heavy makeup was a bit much.

“So!” Klara said, her gaze sharpening as she looked over everyone who remained. “You’re either our new students, martial artists who want to challenge our dojo, or freaks who spent a lot of money just to work out. Don’t mind me, I’m not judging.”

“You young students will undergo a set of three trials before you can even join. If you fail, you must leave the island. We only accept the best of the best! For your first trial, see those Galarian Slowpokes over there?” Klara said, pointing off to the side where a few Galarian Slowpokes were lounging around, looking quite lazy. “You need to touch at least one of them with your bare hands. You can work as a group or alone. It doesn’t matter. Touch them and you can proceed to the second trial.”

The students immediately brightened at the sight, already assuming it would be an easy trial.

Alex, however, could tell otherwise. These Slowpokes were fed for speed and were at minimum Expert rank. It would be difficult for these young adults to catch them without powerful Pokémon as support.

“You may begin!” Klara declared, prompting the students into a frenzy as they blitzed toward the Slowpokes, convinced they didn’t need anything more than their own legs.

As Alex had suspected, the Slowpokes immediately scattered at high speed, surprising the students. They scrambled after them, some quick enough to release their Pokémon, either to ride them in pursuit or send them to stall the Slowpokes.

Once the students were gone, only the adults remained to face Klara.

“Those of you who are here for the year-long retreat to improve your physique, please head back the way you came and join the training group by the beach. Our lovely head student, Bea, will take care of you and get you sorted,” Klara said, pointing back across the bridge toward the beach.

Once they left, only a handful of the more powerful trainers remained, each radiating a strong aura and clear battle intent. All of them were at least Elite rank, with one Champion among them.

Alex was honestly impressed; they had bodies he could immediately tell would give him a run for his money. The question, however, was whether they had the skill and technique to actually entertain him.

“The rest of you can head inside the dojo and start picking out opponents to spar with. You must start with opponents below your rank and work your way up as you defeat them. Honey will take care of you once you’re inside.”

They moved forward and entered the dojo, leaving Alex alone with Klara.

“Well hello there, handsome,” she said. “What can I do for you? No, wait—don’t tell me. Judging by your fine suit, you’re here to sell us snake oil, right? Maybe pitch a new hotel here and there for 10% of our income?”

“My name is Alex Wattson, and I was invited here by Mustard.”

“Of course you were, sweetie,” Klara said, before adopting a mischievous look. “You should head inside with the others then. I’m sure Mustard will be with you shortly once he’s done with his important business.”

Klara turned and made her way inside, so Alex followed with a shrug. He didn’t want to be an unnecessary bother, even if he had every right to complain. Besides, he wanted a better look at the place anyway.

Once they entered the dojo, Alex was met with a wide expanse of interior space. At the center was the main battle hall, a large area divided into multiple sparring courts laid out with tatami mats, each one already in use or being prepared for combat.

To the left was a massive cafeteria-like area, where cooks lined the walls behind rows of stoves, pots, and steaming cookware. To the right was a long passage leading deeper into the facility and its amenities, an on-site Pokémon Center, along with several shops and service stalls built into the dojo complex itself.

Right as he entered, an Expert ranked martial artist from the dojo stepped forward and pointed at Alex.

“You! Spar with me or get out of our dojo!”

Klara’s smile briefly widened at Alex being challenged before she quickly schooled her expression and turned back with feigned concern.

“Oh no! I didn’t mean for this to happen! It would probably be best if you just go.”

“No worries,” Alex said with a light smile that grew more menacing as he stepped forward and removed his jacket. “A bit of exercise would do me some good.”