Pokémon: A Reincarnated Tale

I took a good 1-2 week rest after going through a super duper busy work period during the end of last month.

*

"Yahoo! It's the cycling road!", Serena suddenly shouted out happily as we made our way through the checkpoint past Celadon City. We arrived to what appeared a singular highway, built over a long stretch of forest. Further down to the south was the Kanto Sea. That's right, this Cycling Road was built partially over the sea itself. It's no wonder why it attracts so many cyclists per year.

Serena gently trotted along with a bright blue single seat bicycle on her left side. And of course, she had a matching helmet to go along with it.

"It's a shame I have yet to actually ride a bike...", Lillie said, feeling a bit dejected as she wore a purple helmet.

"That's why we rented one of these, right?", I said, only to present a two seater bicycle beside Lillie and Serena. "You'll be able to get the hang of it. Once you do feel comfortable you can try to match your peddling with mine.", I continued to say.

"You just wanted to ride with Itsuki, didn't you, Lillie?", Serena suddenly retorted, which caused me to almost tumble over. Yet hearing that caused Lillie to giggle.

"Hehe. But it is true I can't ride a bike. I know how to operate a helicopter though, if that means anything.,", Lillie said as she tilted her head a bit. I couldn't help but smack my face with my hand hearing that. Serena almost stumbled forward this time the moment Lillie said that.

"...Just what did that mother of yours teach you?", Serena uttered.

"Lots of things? Though the study sessions were mostly held together with Itsuki and our butler outside of what we learned at school, since mother was usually out in her office for most of the time. She is planning on making me inherit her position of Aether Corporation CEO eventually. At least that's what I currently think. I doubt mother is planning to let brother take over.", Lillie continued to say.

"Hmm, Lillie as a businesswoman, huh? I could kind of see that, actually.", Serena said. "Hup.", Serena continued to say, only to effortlessly get on top of her bike and kept it stable. She immediately tilted it a bit, letting one of her feet rest on the other side.

"As expected of Serena. Guess riding is simple for you after all.", I replied with a smile, only to proceed to get on the front seat of our two seater. I was quite a bit taller than her so we got a bike to match my height. It may give Lillie some discomfort, but hopefully she'll be able to match my speed before long. Of course I didn't forget my helmet either.

Seeing the two of us get on our bikes, Lillie followed, and sat on the seat behind me. For now, Lillie reached out her arms, and I felt her slender hands hold against my waist.

"Well, that is still far into the future. I'm enjoying our journey together right now.", Lillie responded with a smile. However, her placing her hands around my waist didn't go unnoticed. Serena immediately spotted it.

"I knew it. You just wanted to hold onto Itsuki.", Serena retorted as she stuck out her tongue a bit.

"Hahaha.", I responded with a laugh seeing Serena say this. "Well, it'd probably be better for us to depart sooner than later, should we want to arrive in Fuschia while its still daytime.", I said to the two.

"Yeah, you're right, Itsuki. Looks like you win this one, Lillie. We should get going.", Serena responded with a nod.

Hearing Serena said that, Lillie nodded her head. She then turned around, only to spot an Officer Jenny who greeted us not too long ago. Officer Jenny was stationed at the entrance to the cycling road, likely to keep traffic going. We would see other cyclists from time to time, even when we are at the entrance. Seeing her, we heard Lillie yell out to her.

"Thank you very much for letting us rent these bikes, Officer Jenny!", Lillie said, which drew Officer Jenny's attention.

"You're very welcome. I'll go relay that to the owner of the bike shop here. Do be careful out there you guys. We are not responsible for any accidents or trainer-related injuries.", Officer Jenny replied, giving us a warning.

"Note taken. We'll be off.", I responded to her.

With that said, Serena moved her body in one swift motion, and started to pedal. She took the lead and Lillie and I followed suit, starting to pedal as well. It didn't take long to feel breeze streak across our faces as we pedaled down the cement paved highway. Every so often we would come across other cyclists going to and fro.

We could even see cyclists battling each other. This allowed us to get some good experience in, seeing the eagerness of the challenges. I mostly let Serena and Lillie garner more experience in these battles, as my own Pokemon were already in their own training regimen to face Koga. It was the morning when we started our cycling. A few hours passed before we realized it, signaling noontime.

During this time, Lillie also tried matching her pace with mine, and she was able to follow along quite well.

We would come across rest stops every so often as well, since pedaling nonstop would tire someone out rather quickly. The beginning of this cycling road passed through the remainder of Celadon's forests on its left side. The moment we came out of the trees, a heavy salty sea breeze wafted through our noses. The highway opened up, and we could see the Kanto Sea in its full splendor. I'm sure further south from here would be Cinnabar Island and the Seafoam Islands.

"The sea really is pretty.", Serena said happily, letting several drops of sweat drip down her face as she rubbed a towel over her face to dry off her sweat.

"It definitely is. Just wait till we reach Alola. It's practically surrounded by the ocean."

"Is this your first time being this close to the sea, Serena?", Lillie asked curiously.

"Oh right, you two lived in Alola for a while. I guess you're more used to this than I am, huh? I haven't gone directly to the sea yet but this is as close as it can get.", Serena replied happily.

However, at that time, we suddenly heard a rumbling noise, coming right from Serena's stomach. The moment Serena's stomach grumbled, we saw her blush a bit before she hid her face inside of her towel. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, looks like it's time for lunch. We've pretty much traveled about halfway through this Cycling Road. The rest of the path banks to the left. Look, you can see Fuschia City way further off.", I said, raising my arm and pointing outward to the crossing highway. We were at the rest stop where the two sides met. It wasn't too busy right now either. We could see another cyclist or two also enjoying a rest at one of the tables nearby.

"We've already biked halfway?", Serena said, blinking her eyes as she saw a huge city off in the distance. We could feel the beating sun on high noon over us as she said that.

"Hehe, I guess you weren't even paying attention to the time we spent biking. But I'm a bit surprised too seeing us go this fast. The ride so far was very enjoyable.", Lillie responded happily.

"You were able to keep up with my pace too. You aren't tired yet, are you, Lillie?", I decided to ask. Lillie gently shook her head.

"No. I still have a good bit of energy to spend before I completely tire out.", Lillie answered me. And yet, the moment she said that we suddenly heard a second growl, coming straight from Lillie's stomach. Lillie blushed this time before hiding away behind the towel she used to wipe her sweat off too.

Serena chuckled seeing Lillie do this.

"It definitely is time for lunch alright. You're making it, right, Itsuki?", Serena asked me.

"Of course. We can bring everyone out too and make a nice lunch. We're on a good pace. We may even be able to sign up for Fuchsia's Gym before the day is over.", I replied with a nod of my head, which caused Serena and Lillie to smile.

In the next moment, we saw Serena tilt her head a bit, before speaking next.

"Hmm, if that's the case, then can I request something?", Serena decided to ask. Her eyes specifically shifted toward me.

"Sure, what's up?", I asked back. Serena revealed a playful smile after I said that.

"How about something energizing for lunch, you know, to get us through the rest of this cycling?", Serena asked, being vague. I couldn't help but blink my eyes at her.

"A dish packed with protein then?", I continued to ask.

"That works for me.", Serena replied happily, and Lillie nodded as well.

Just like that, we enjoyed a nice lunch at one of the rest stops about halfway through Kanto's famous Cycling Road, right next to the salty sea. We would constantly hear waves crash beneath the cement road. The only thing that prevented us from diving into it was a large guard rail. But even then the drop was quite long. We ended up eating at a couple tables and enjoyed the scenery as water and flying Pokemon came out to say hello.

The couple of other bicyclists have already left after enjoying their break, and after a nutritious meal and our Pokemon with full bellies, we felt energized to continue our own bicycling. The sun had already started its descent, signaling the afternoon, and we hopped on our bikes. This time, Lillie was able to keep up with me after getting the hang of it, and even decided to have a small race. Serena still came out on top though.

Before we knew it, we arrived at Fuchsia City just as the sunset was setting, making the scenery very beautiful. And at the same time, we quickly spotted a very large Pokemon Center that was in the center of all the buildings surrounding it, so it was quite easy to spot. Apparently Fuchsia Gym wasn't in the city itself, but right on the outskirts.

Getting off the Cycling Road, we returned our rented bikes to the shop at the end, and thanked them. Afterward, we checked into the large Pokemon Center and it was packed with trainers. But these trainers seemed more experienced than the ones we saw back in Celadon City, which made since as we were now in the second half of Kanto. From here on the difficulty would spike, and our next target was the Fuchsia Gym, and its Gym Leader, Koga!

With a look of anticipation, we checked into our room and healed our Pokemon that were tired from training and partaking in Pokemon battles during our remaining part of the Cycling Road. After that, we filled out an application to partake in a gym battle. Surprisingly, they would be able to squeeze us in within the week!

We all had an anticipated look in our eyes knowing our next gym battle was coming up!

Meanwhile, as the three of us settled into Fuchsia City, a lone figure could be seen floating in the air, wandering seamlessly through the clouds. And yet it seemed to trace a path along the Cycling Road, to which the three trainers it saw were just there not to long ago.

"Mew?", The figure questioned, only to tilt its small head at the direction of the large city not too far away. In no time did it speed up, causing the clouds to disperse quickly as it flew through them. Upon arriving at the city, it found the Pokemon center the three trainers went in, but something caught its interest elsewhere. A large tree right in the middle of the city. It was quite distinctive, it seemed to be a giant large pine tree.

"Mew?", The figure asked again, only to dart its eyes around the tree. It was as if the tree was calling out to it. At the same time, the figure thought it saw a shadow for a split second, which caused the figure to halt its flying.

"Biii!", A second voice suddenly called out to the first figure, seemingly from within the large pine tree. Hearing this second voice, the first figure turned, and looked downward...

*

:)

Power stones please?