Don't forget to drop some power stones!
*****
"You head on in, alright? I'll just be a sec. I'll go place your bags in the Flying Taxi.", Ricky said.
"Thank you.", Lillie said, thanking Ricky. Before she forgot, she reached inside her duffle bag and brought out her Pokedex. It's likely she'll be using it considering Professor Kukui is giving the two Z-Rings later. She decided to keep her Pokedex on hand for now.
With that, Lillie headed inside Professor Kukui's lab. Snowy walked alongside her. She started to play around with Amber and Rockruff while Professor Kukui became busy, setting plates down for them. A nice smell of toast and roasted bacon struck Lillie's nostrils, making her even more hungry.
While Lillie settled down inside Professor Kukui's lab, Ricky went out back, and walked alongside the sand. He soaked in every minute of it. There weren't many beaches in Kanto, only around Vermillion City, Fuschia City, and Pallet Town, but only at the south end of the town. It had a small beach that allowed one to swim or ride across it, all the way to Cinnabar Island, if one so desired.
Ricky raised his hand up, blocking the suns' rays from directly shining down at him.
"Man, I really am going to miss this place. It's just like a second home to me.", Ricky said to himself as a wave of nostalgia hit him.
"Skar?", A voice called out to Ricky as he approached the closed cabin of the Flying Taxi. Ricky saw two Pokemon currently enjoying some sunbathing, the warm rays of the sun struck down against their glossy and shiny metal coats. The two Pokemon were currently in a roosting position, all curled up on the sand. Sensing Ricky approach them, the two bird Pokemon cocked their heads upward. Ricky smiled at the two.
Confusion appeared in their eyes as they heard Ricky utter to himself.
"Oh it's nothing. You two look like you're having fun.", Ricky called out to the two.
"Skar!", The second Pokemon flapped their wings in happiness. Their bodies were completely composed out of silver-like metal. It was very shiny and slick. They were quite big too. These two Pokemon were Skarmory, a popular ride Pokemon often used to carry around Flying Taxis. It depended on the region one went to. Alola didn't really have any specialties when it came to Flying Taxis, unlike the Galar Region, where Corviknight was the popular choice by far.
But these two Skarmory welcomed Ricky as they were enjoying some time to themselves. These two Skarmory were going to be busy soon in the coming hour. Until then, they were relaxing.
"You two continue to have fun. I'm just placing some more luggage inside.", Ricky said to the two.
"Skar!", The two Skarmory acknowledged Ricky. Shifting their heads back toward the tip of their bodies, the two curled up into two metal balls again, and started snoozing away. Ricky smiled again seeing this, and proceeded to open the cabin door. There was a small space to store luggage. He could already see his small-medium sized suitcase and backpack inside. He took Lillie's two bags and placed them next to his.
"That oughta do it.", Ricky said, and clapped his hands together after doing a big heave of the bags, and proceeded to jump back down onto the sand.
Taking another moment, Ricky observed the two relaxed Skarmory. He didn't expect Professor Kukui would actually own two of them! He rarely used these Skarmory for battling, though. They were used primarily as Flying Taxi drivers.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't gotten a reading on you two yet, have I? Kukui should be placing breakfast down, so I got a moment to spare. Why don't we?", Ricky mused. His Pokedex was just as new as Lillie's was. It barely had any data registered in it. In fact, he only had three Pokemon registered in his Pokedex, as he had just received it not too long ago. He had Snowy, Amber and Kukui's Rockruff registered. He hadn't registered any other Pokemon yet.
Opening his Item Pouch, he took out his Pokedex. Unlike Lillie, Ricky was fully equipped with both an Item Pouch and Trainer Belt. The Trainer Belt was around his waist, and was built into the black belt he was presently wearing. Some liked using them as shoulder straps, but Ricky didn't like that fashion.
But both the Trainer Belt and Item Pouch were very special items. Ricky found it astounding that it worked like the games. The tech in this world has already improved at an astounding rate. Whenever a Trainer had a full six Pokemon on their Trainer Belt, and they caught one more, it would automatically get sent to the Pokedex's subspace. It was completely digital. Physical storage of Pokemon was a thing of the past.
Now that doesn't mean Pokemon PCs no longer exist. They too have turned digital. Most Trainers could send and retrieve their Pokemon with a couple presses of a button when they were at Pokemon Centers.
Technology at its finest.
It helps relieve a lot of stress placed on Pokemon Professors too, allowing them to diversify their ongoing studies or projects. They didn't have to manage Pokeballs all day long.
The Item Pouch was especially special. Ricky found them very similar to those swords and magic fantasy stories he liked to read in his past life. They might seem small in appearance, but one could store several items in them, up to a certain limit. The subspace itself was decent-sized, but not infinite. One could store several kinds of Pokeballs in it, healing potions, berries, you name it.
And that included Ricky's Pokedex. He often kept it stored away inside his Item Pouch.
And just like Lillie's Pokedex, Ricky's Pokedex has the same smartphone-like design. The same model after Pokemon Horizons. It was almost scary how close it looked just like smartphones in his past life. Because of that, Ricky had a sense of familiarity with it already.
Ricky owned a smartphone, so he was used to navigating it. He quickly opened up the app that was linked to the index that stored every region's Pokemon. It was very easy to navigate too. It contained several tabs, and it was categorized by what region the Pokemon was from. It automatically opened the second tab once Ricky placed his Pokedex over the nearest Skarmory on the left.
Skarmory was about two-thirds down the giant list. Its picture suddenly became visible. All the other bubbles inside the app remained unknown, containing question marks. After registering Skarmory in his Pokedex, Ricky got a reading on the closest one to him. He didn't need to get a reading on both, he just wanted to see the Skarmory's information.
"Skarmory, the Armored Bird Pokemon. Contrary to popular belief, Skarmory has become a popular choice to ferry Pokemon and Trainers alike across the skies. In the past, people used Skarmory as swords, assisting them in battle. Their feathers are very thin and sharp, allowing one to cut rocks and different types of metal with ease. Despite having an iron body, it is actually very light. Due to that, Skarmory can reach up to one-hundred and eighty miles per hour while flying, at top speeds.", The Pokedex read.
"Neat. Should I try to catch a Skarmory in the future? They're great for riding too...", Ricky wondered. If he did catch one, he could zoom around Kanto and the other regions really quickly. He put that thought aside for now. He didn't read the Skarmory's ability or moves either. Professor Kukui didn't use these two Skarmory for battle, so Ricky didn't have a need to check that information.
As Ricky got a good read on the two Skarmory, nearby one of the thickets in the forest off to the left...
Observing from afar, a large shadow could presently be observing Ricky, tucked inside one of the thickets. It had two large yellow-black shells covering its orange body. Its hair was styled into a large mohawk. Its hands and arms connected to the two shells that surrounded its body. Unlike its shells, it appeared to be a bird Pokemon, or an avian of some kind, as it had a beak for a mouth.
It was definitely a Pokemon of some sort. To which kind, it remained to be determined. It observed Ricky in silence from afar, keeping to itself.
A glint of light streaked across the weird Pokemon's eyes, acting as if it had reached a decision.
Woosh!
"Eh?", Ricky called out, feeling something in the air. Before his eyes, a very quick shadow suddenly streaked across the entire beach, leaving Ricky behind in the dust. It was too fast. Ricky couldn't even watch how fast that shadowy figure flew at! Before Ricky could regain his vision, the shadowy Pokemon was already gone.
But to his surprise, Ricky heard a small 'Tink' like sound strike near his feet shortly after the shadow had already vanished.
The noise caused Ricky to look downward.
He spotted a small diamond-shaped crystal now resting at his feet. It was no more than a few inches long at most. It had a cool look too, icy-blue in color.
"This...Could it be?", Ricky uttered, proceeding to pick up the crystal...