Don't forget to drop some power stones!
*****
Ricky, Serena, and Lillie were able to spend the second day at Viridian Heights, spending some quality time and bond with their newly acquired Pokemon. Their roster was now three a piece, filling out half of what a trainer can use during battle. Trainers can have up to six Pokemon that they can carry on hand, the rest is transferred seamlessly into their Pokedex!
It wasn't like the old anime where they had to rely on Pokemon PCs to store Pokemon away. They would automatically digitize before their very eyes, getting sent into the Pokedex's storage space. Each Pokedex served as an inventory they could keep Pokemon inside, and its box space was massive!
Thankfully the trio didn't need to worry about that quite just yet, not until they've caught seven or more Pokemon. That might happen before they reach Pewter City. But for now, they had three Pokemon each. Ricky had Amber, Rowlet, and Froakie, to which all three are Shiny. Serena now had Sapphire, Litten, and Chespin to which Litten was Shiny. Lillie now had Snowy, Popplio, and Fennekin, to which Popplio was Shiny! Their rosters were already well underway, and they had just recently become trainers!
With a bright outlook of their future adventures, the next day passed before they realized it. The trio cuddled up together, sharing the same bed they slept in the previous night. Any of their "fun" was no longer present inside the bed. It was completely washed away. Ricky spent some of the afternoon washing all their clothes, including the bedding. This time, they didn't do anything naughty, they just slept together.
Serena was much more easy-going and accepting of this new lifestyle, so she quickly wandered off into dreamland, together with Ricky. Ricky was in the center this time, hugging Serena to the left, while Lillie was on the right. Lillie still took some time before she started snoozing away for the night. She hadn't a clue she would enter a harem, and she wasn't sure if this was the end of it either. Thankfully Ricky was right there with her, so after making herself comfortable, she snuggled against Ricky, and joined them.
Most of their Pokemon returned to their Pokeballs after spending the day getting to know them. They weren't as friendly as Amber, Snowy, and Sapphire were to each other. Those three took the other bed, resting peacefully for the night, while the rest stayed inside their Pokeballs.
The next day came, marking it Wednesday, March 6th.
It was bright and sunny, carrying the spring air. It wasn't too hot, which made travelling much easier. It was time for Ricky to say goodbye to their two night stay at Viridian Heights. He was the first one to wake up, as usual. After being Lillie's caretaker, he got used to waking up very early. It was 7AM, so he decided to let his two girls sleep in more. Ricky was in the middle this time, so it did take some effort to get out of bed, without waking Serena and Lillie up.
Ricky had initially intended to call Cynthia yesterday, but he decided against doing so, after seeing them reach a decision of wanting to bond with their Pokemon for the rest of the day. Ricky saw that doing such wasn't appropriate, so he just hung out with Serena and Lillie during that. He will make a call to Cynthia later. He wasn't sure when, but perhaps when they get a few badges once their journey is underway?
Instead, Ricky grabbed his Pokedex, and wandered off enough to where he wouldn't cause any noise. Scrolling through his list of contacts, he landed on a particular name, Violet Oak. This was Ricky's mother in this life!
Gary's parents were never officially shown in the entire anime, which Ricky always found strange. Same thing went for Ash. Ricky wondered if God did a twist when he sent Ricky to this version of the Pokemon World. Which, apparently, only Ricky is a part of. He doesn't have to worry about any other reincarnators showing up in this world. That was how God explained it, anyways.
But that meant Ricky's parents weren't unknown to him!
Violet Oak was Ricky's mother, while Ricky's father was one of the more famous characters who only showed up in the video games, Blue Oak! During his fifteen years since he came here, he had only come across Blue a handful of times. He was a pretty proactive trainer, often away on travels.
And likewise, wherever Blue was, he was never alone. Red was also in this Pokemon World. Compared to Blue, Ricky had come across Red only once or twice. He had his iconic red hat and rarely showed his face, always remaining quiet. Ricky knew Red was known to be one of little words, so he knew he probably couldn't get Red to say much during the couple of times he was able to see Red. Blue, on the other hand, was much more talkative.
Blue reminded Ricky of Gary quite a lot. They had very similar appearances.
As Ricky recalled that, he swiped his Pokedex, and touched his mother's contact number. It started to ring on its own. It only took a moment or two before Ricky saw a stern, violet-haired woman appear on the screen. IF there was one difference in his previous life compared to now, it was that video calls were much more common here. Especially with how far the Pokedex has advanced lately. All people need to do is tap a screen a couple times, and viola, a video call like this one appears.
"So you've finally decided to call, Ricky. And here I thought I was never going to see my future daughter-in-laws.", Violet said to Ricky without even batting an eye.
"Haha, can you not tease me first thing in the morning, mom? I just woke up, for crying out loud.", Ricky replied with a dry laugh, scratching his cheek. Yet he saw his mother unchanged. She typically kept a stern look in her gaze wherever she went.
"Well, they are with you, yes? Your partners, that is.", Violet asked.
"They are. Didn't I tell you in our messages last time? It won't just be me going on this adventure. On that part, you can be rest assured.", Ricky said, returning his expression back to normal.
"As long as they made it here, that's all that matters. You can never know what could happen when you go from region to region. Everyone is looking forward to you coming back. You did say you were going to stay at that hotel in Viridian City for two days. Considering it's the third day, you'll be leaving soon?", Violet asked Ricky.
"That's the plan. We'll be checking out in one or two hours, whenever Serena and Lillie wake up. I am not sure if you've started cooking breakfast yet, but I'm dying to have one of your home-cooked meals again.", Ricky said with a playful smile.
"Hah. That's just because you've been gone for too long. You're not feeling homesick all of a sudden, are you?", Violet retorted.
"As if. We'll be near home a lot more in the coming year, so there will be plenty of chances for us to stay a night or two at Pallet Town, unlike before. We aren't bound by flights anymore.", Ricky explained.
"True. You're in Kanto now. Plus Gary keeps saying he's looking forward to seeing you again. Do you plan to stay long?", Violet questioned.
"Right now, I'm thinking of having us leave on Friday. So we'll be staying at the house for today and tomorrow. We won't be intruding much, will we?", Ricky asked.
"It's your home too, you know. You won't be intruding at all. You can stay however long you want. Just let me know ahead of time, that way I can set aside some time to do some shopping.", Violet responded.
"Got it. And thankfully Route 1 isn't big. We'll be driving by car, so it shouldn't even take a half hour to reach Pallet Town. The distance Route 1 covers is much shorter than how big Viridian City is. If you don't mind having breakfast a bit late, I think we'll be arriving no later than 9AM.", Ricky explained.
"9AM, huh? I'm sure Gary and the others will be up by then. As for Ash though, that is completely up in the air. He always enjoys sleeping in late. He probably already forgot you're coming back today.", Violet said with a smirk.
"I can totally see that happening. Anyways, before I go wake the two up, can I ask for one more favor?", Ricky asked.
"A favor? That's pretty rare, coming from you. I've already lost count with how many favors I've given Gary, but you rarely ask for one. State it.", Violet said.
"Well, I don't think it's much to ask for. Unlike me who's been exposed to a lot of your Pokemon Battles as a trainer, Lillie has little to none in this field of expertise. Serena's seen some, but it would do well for the two to observe a Pokemon Battle. Oh, and by the way, we've already made some new friends! We can introduce our new Pokemon!", Ricky happily said.
"You sure work fast--is what I would say, but Dad already gave me the details of what happened. But what's this about a Pokemon Battle?", Violet mused, not expecting to hear Ricky say that.
"Word travels fast, eh? But yes, a Pokemon Battle. I was hoping I could use Amber to have a Pokemon Battle, and with you, in particular, Mom. You've been inside the Indigo League. You know what it's like to fight strong trainers. So I was thinking we could give everyone a show before we depart. Amber has grown alongside me all these years. She hasn't partaken in a Pokemon Battle yet, but I do think she'd fare well against you.", Ricky explained.
"You sure aim high. You want Amber to fight Krystal?", Violet replied with a playful smile.
"I know I might very well lose, but it isn't every day you can fight a legendary Pokemon. To me, this sounds like a perfect opportunity. I even got a little something new you haven't seen yet. I think I'll be able to test it out!", Ricky happily exclaimed.
And of course, what Ricky was referring to was that unknown Z-Crystal Tapu-Koko gifted him, prior to leaving Alola. He didn't know why, but he just had a feeling it was meant for Amber. Plus it was colored light-blue, and gave off the feeling it was just like an Ice Stone, except way smaller.
"Hah. Where did all that confidence come from? You really do remind me of Dad, even if you aren't his real grandson. Very well, I'll accept that challenge. You better not back down from this, Ricky.", Violet said. Even though her usual stern look was looking directly into the video call, Ricky could see the seriousness in her eyes.
"I know. We can use the nearby field near Gramps's Lab. Talk to you soon, Mom.", Ricky said, looking to end their conversation there.
"Come home safely.", Violet said, waving her hand at Ricky, before the video call ended. He was glad he called his mother. It was true, they weren't related by blood, as Professor Kukui sent Ricky as a baby to Professor Oak's doorstep. That was the one thing God meddled with, and how he became Gary's older brother. It was old news now, but Ricky was glad with how things turned out this way.
"So that's what you meant about having a Pokemon Battle.", Serena's voice called out to Ricky, who was at the other end of the room. Ricky turned around, and saw Serena awake. Seeing the time, it was already 7:30AM.
"Haha. Sorry, did I wake you?", Ricky asked.
"Nah. I just woke up, and so did Lillie.", Serena said, pointing her finger toward the platinum-blonde haired girl beside her.
"Good morning you two.", Lillie happily greeted them.
"A very good morning to you as well, Lillie, Serena. What you heard is correct. I'll be challenging Mom. She made it as far as challenging the Elite Four during her trainer adventures here in Kanto. You've not been exposed to many Pokemon Battles like I have, Lillie. I figured it would be a good time to show you one.", Ricky said.
"True. I have only ever seen a Pokemon Battle once or twice since you know...what happened and all that. It'll be a nice thing to watch for sure!", Lillie said with a nod.
"Likewise, I'm already starting to look forward to it!", Serena also happily responded.
"Then go freshen up. We won't be having breakfast or anything. We'll do that at the house later. Thankfully Route 1 is super short. We'll make it to Pallet Town in no time. We'll probably be on the road for about an hour, so once we're all ready and packed to go, we'll head out to the hotel garage.", Ricky said.
"Got it. We'll just take a quick shower this time. We won't take long!", Serena nodded.
"Hmm-hmm.", Lillie nodded.
Seeing the two well awake now, Ricky didn't keep them busy any longer, and the two quickly departed into the bathroom. They washed up and got ready, coming out to pack all of their bags. Ricky took this time to clean himself up, and called their Pokemon back into their balls. He didn't want them in the car, so for now, it was just them.
They didn't bring many bags either. After taking a commemorative photo out on the veranda, the three walked back into the room, and were now ready to depart. They kept the room nice and tidy as they left. Walking to the nearest elevator, they made it down to the first floor, greeting the hotel staff. They thanked them for the stay, and checked out.
In the next couple moments, they located the hotel garage, and found their assigned spot. The Upper Floors had their own parking, which was nice. They didn't have to worry about it being taken. Ricky took everyone's bags. Lillie sat in the front while Serena sat in the passenger row. Ricky took the wheel, and inputted the coordinates of Pallet Town into his self-driving car.
"Heh, it really feels nice to finally return home.", Ricky mused.
"I'm sure you've missed it, right? I can't wait to see everyone again!", Serena happily replied.
"I haven't been to your home before, so it'll be nice to see what it's like.", Lillie also happily said.
Serena has been to Ricky's home before, unlike Lillie. Both girls did get acquainted with their friends during those Summer Camps, but they never wandered back inside Ricky's house during that. For this trip, this would be Lillie's first visit, but for Serena, a few times by now.
Ricky felt a sudden wave of nostalgia strike him as his car began to speed away from the hotel garage. He was finally heading home!