Don't forget to drop some power stones!
*****
March 4th, 2024.
Monday. 915AM.
Hau'oli Airport Entrance.
"Welp. This is as far as I can take you two. You got all your stuff?", Professor Kukui asked. He watched Ricky stack four bags nearby. As Ricky took their belongings out of the Flying Taxi, Lillie stepped down, being careful as she did.
"I think that's it. Thanks for everything, Kukui.", Ricky said with a nod after he checked everything over.
"Yes. Thank you very much for flying us over here. That was my first time riding a Flying Taxi. It was exhilarating!", Lillie exclaimed.
'Oh yeah, Lillie usually had her own chauffeur drive her around to places she wants to go to, or just walk there directly if it's close enough. Guess this was her first time riding a Flying Taxi.', Ricky recalled. He did see Lillie look out the window most of the ride. It looks like it was a new experience for her. Lillie was an adult already, but Ricky saw her behaving like a child during the ride.
"Haha, you get to see something new every day.", Ricky said, teasing Lillie, which made her blush.
"Keep the teasing short, alright, Ricky? We can't dawdle here. We only have fifteen minutes or so to pass through security.", Lillie reminded Ricky.
"Of course. Thanks for the ride, Kukui. We'll try to stay in touch, alright?", Ricky said to Professor Kukui.
"Heh heh. Give my regards to Professor Oak. I did already get in touch with him prior, and it looks like he already set aside three of his starting Pokemon for you two and Serena.", Professor Kukui said to the two.
"Got it. Catch you later.", Ricky said, saying his farewells to Professor Kukui.
"Take care, Professor!", Lillie also said, waving her hand at him.
"Good luck, you two!", Professor Kukui responded back, saying his goodbyes. He did another shake of the reins attached to the two Skarmory. Flapping their wings, Professor Kukui took to the skies. He was no longer visible, leaving Ricky and Lillie to their own devices.
Ricky observed the giant lot that was meant for Flying Taxis. There were no passing cars. There were separate curbs that allowed passengers to disembark into the airport. Airports blocked sections off only for Flying Taxis. He even saw a couple Flying Taxis that had Corviknights strapped at the reins!
Seeing as the two were now alone, Ricky glanced at Lillie again.
"It's going to just be the two of us for a while, Lillie. Do you hate how things have turned out?", Ricky decided to ask her.
Hearing Ricky's question, Lillie turned her head back to him. She gently shook it left to right.
"I won't lie, I am a tad jealous I can't monopolize you, Ricky. But Serena loves you just as much as I do. I'd rather not see us constantly fight.", Lillie answered Ricky. "But that just means I have to enjoy this short amount of time with just the two of us, even if we're spending the most of it flying!", Lillie continued, pumping her arms upward in vigor.
"Haha, well put. Our flight will depart at 10AM, and with the flight being eight hours long, we'll arrive in Kanto at 6PM. I have a hotel reservation once we arrive in Viridian City. Serena won't get until six hours later it'll be midnight by the time she gets in. So we'll have the evening to ourselves too.", Ricky said with a playful smile.
"The entire evening, just the two of us, huh...", Lillie uttered to herself. 'If Ricky has a hotel already, then maybe he hasn't made any restaurant reservations. Should I...?', Lillie wondered to herself. Before she realized it, her cheeks turned red.
"Lillie?", Ricky called out to Lillie, seeing her enter her own thoughts again.
"I-It's nothing. Why don't we head to the precheck line at security? We only have two bags each so we don't need to check any additional items.", Lillie answered, quickly dodging Ricky's suggestion. A brief thought of whether to use the Pokedollars Abe gave her came across her mind, but she quickly shook that thought away, and responded to Ricky.
"Sounds good to me. Let's go.", Ricky nodded.
Just like that, the two entered Hau'oli Airport. These airports were very reminiscent of how airports worked in Ricky's past life. Checking bags happened at the airport entrance, but here, there weren't different airlines. They branded airlines to what city trainers went to. So Hau'oli Airport was Hau'oli Airlines. Lumiose City was Lumiose Airlines, and so on.
This way made it very easy for trainers and travelers alike to go about the regions, or to different cities of the same region.
If there was one more difference to point out was that Ricky saw a bunch of Pokemon travellering with their trainers. He and Lillie saw lots of Alolan Pokemon as the two walked past the baggage lines!
Thankfully they only brought two bags each, so they didn't need to check any additional bags. They were also pre-checked, so they could speed along the fast security lane. It only took them ten minutes to go through security, having a good five minutes to spare. Their corresponding gate wasn't far either.
Lillie did want to bring Snowy out as they traveled through the airport so she could see new sights, but decided against it. There were lots of people going out and about, and having too many could potentially scare Snowy. So Lillie decided to keep Snowy in her Pokeball for now. Ricky also is keeping Amber in his.
People were allowed to take their Pokemon out during flights, and they often reserved seats for their Pokemon if they were big enough. Pokemon had their own regulations to go through airports, which mostly restricted them by weight and height. Amber only weighed about half as Ricky did, or even perhaps a third. She wasn't extremely heavy, contrary to her large size. Ricky had plans to let Amber take one of the four seats he reserved, and let Snowy snuggle against her.
But now, Ricky and Lillie had two new additions to their roster. Rowlet and Popplio. These two Pokemon were small enough to ride on the airplane, so Ricky might allow all of them to get a good rest in.
"Phew, looks like we made it.", Lillie said, seeing people currently lined up at the first group, waiting to board the plane. Once they arrived at the gate, the two saw it was currently disembarking its passengers from the previous plane.
"Haha, you really do like to worry sometimes. It always turns out fine in the end, right?", Ricky asked.
"Something could always go wrong, you know? It isn't always the perfect world out there.", Lillie frowned, hearing Ricky say that.
"That is also true. Our flight could get delayed, but the weather is really nice out so I doubt that will happen. We're part of the first group to board, so let's go head on over.", Ricky suggested.
"Alright.", Lillie responded with a nod.
The two didn't have an urge to go shop around or anything, as they couldn't wander far. They were at their gate, so they took to the left side, and were in the first ten spots. Ricky liked to splurge his Pokedollars on events like traveling.
God converted Ricky's remaining karma points into Pokedollars, and it was enough to where Ricky could invest in a house. He built his wealth on top of that once he could start managing his own money. He had amassed a hefty amount of Pokedollars throughout the years, working both for the Aether Foundation and doing his work as a Professor slash Teacher.
His overall net worth was several million at the very least. Perhaps in the tens of millions by now. He could rest easy and let his money grow on its own. If he converted his current amount he owned into yen from his past life, Ricky could call himself a millionaire.
That was why he didn't have any worries about spending his own money. If he wanted to purchase these first-class tickets and a fancy hotel room to rest for a day, he could.
"Ding-dong! Flight Number 69 bound for the Kanto Region will begin boarding in a few moments. Please have your tickets and passports ready. I repeat, boarding will begin in a few moments. Thank you for taking Hau'oli Airlines today.", The clerk on the intercom said, causing Ricky's thoughts to end.
"Looks like everything will be fine for the time being. Why don't you call out Snowy? There's still quite a few people at our gate, but it's a lot less than what the lobby had. I'll take Amber out once we're in the air.", Ricky suggested.
"Okay!", Lillie responded. At the start, Lillie felt uneasy, but her worries were wiped away after Ricky's persistence. She could tell Ricky was much more used to flying than she was, and had used airports on several occasions. Just him being relaxed like this gave her a sense of comfort.
Doing as she wanted, Lillie tossed her Pokeball into the air, and called Snowy out.
"Vulpix!", Snowy responded with a cute yelp, greeting Lillie and Ricky. Her eyes were immediately attracted toward several locations, as she found herself at a spot she hasn't been to before.
"Be on your best behavior alright, Snowy? You'll be able to get a good rest in a few moments. We'll be boarding the airplane shortly.", Lillie said to Snowy.
"Vul!", Snowy responded, bobbing her head, as if she responded to Lillie.
Snowy stood in place next to Lillie, causing Lillie to smile. As for Ricky, he watched over their bags until the deboarding finished. In no time at all, the time struck 930AM, and the clerk called the start of the boarding process. Snowy behaved as she should, and didn't cause any trouble while heading up the ramp.
Just like that, they boarded the airplane, ready to start their next adventure in Kanto!