The sea breeze, carrying a salty smell, swept through the streets of Canalave City.
Shinx on the breakwater wagged its tail, chasing dandelions blown by the wind.
Fishing boats at the harbor had just unloaded fresh seafood; Krabby’s claws ‘clacked’ in the bamboo baskets, attracting a group of curious Psyduck to watch.
The city’s clock tower struck noon, and sunlight spilled onto the blue rooftops, reflecting dazzling light.
Trainers battled on the beach; Electabuzz’s Thunderbolt and Octillery’s Hydro Pump collided in the air, splashing water that formed a small rainbow in the sunlight.
In the distance on the sea, a luxury cruise ship slowly departed the harbor, and in the waves at its stern, several Tentacool swam along the ship’s wake.
“Vini~ Vinivini~” Canalave City is located in the southwest of the Sinnoh region.
Eric disembarked here, and next, he would take a cruise ship, traveling by sea to Kitakami.
“Are you hungry?” “Vini~” The little guy shook its head; Eric had prepared many snacks for it, so it wasn’t hungry yet.
“Then we’ll go buy tickets first, and then eat directly on the ship.” “Vini!” The little guy was curious about everything in the outside world, especially all sorts of delicious food.
Eindoak Town was rich in fruit, but after eating it for a thousand years, even the most delicious fruit would eventually become tiresome.
This was also why Eric was able to attract Victini in the first place.
He catered to its preferences, bringing delicacies not found in Eindoak Town into the forest.
If once wasn’t enough, then ten times, a hundred times.
It took a full six months, but Eric finally lured Victini out and discovered the V-shaped Pokémon, who had been hiding and secretly eating the snacks he bought from other places.
“I’m going to buy tickets.
V-chan, you play with Lilligant for a while.
Remember not to run off.” Eric said, then took out a Poké Ball.
A flash of white light, and a Pokémon resembling a little girl appeared before the man and the Pokémon.
This Pokémon’s head and abdomen were white, its eyes bright red, and it wore a bright red floral ornament on its head.
The golden filaments and red anthers looked like a delicate crown.
It had long, dark green leaves as arms, a ring of golden sepals around its neck, and its lower body was wrapped in light green, tulip-shaped leaves, like it was wearing a skirt.
This was Lilligant from the Unova region.
“Lilligant~” Lilligant yawned as if waking from a dream.
It raised its leaf-like small hand and gently waved at Eric and Victini.
“You’ve worked hard.
Go and play well outside now.” Eric stroked the petals on Lilligant’s head, making the child happily narrow its eyes.
Lilligant was Eric’s only Pokémon besides Victini, and also his starter Pokémon, which he raised from a Petilil.
Living in the Pokémon world without a Pokémon companion made Eric feel very insecure.
However, raising and caring for Pokémon is an extremely mentally and financially demanding task.
So, when choosing a Pokémon, Eric very decisively chose the easiest-to-raise Grass-type Pokémon.
Grass-type Pokémon can sustain themselves through Synthesis.
They have very low food requirements, preferring fertile soil, clean water, and ample sunlight.
Most importantly, Grass-type Pokémon are mostly gentle-natured, making them very suitable for a novice Trainer like Eric.
“Vini Vini~” Victini and Lilligant were very familiar with each other.
Even when Lilligant was still a Petilil, they often played in the forests of Eindoak Town.
But unlike the mischievous Victini.
Lilligant was a very gentle child.
Although Victini was much older than Lilligant, when they were together, Lilligant was more like an older sister who would take care of Victini.
While Eric went to queue for tickets, the two little ones didn’t wander far, standing on the embankment watching the fish and Water-type Pokémon in the blue sea.
“Let’s go.” After buying the tickets, he picked up Victini in his arms and extended his hand to Lilligant.
“Lilligant~” Lilligant placed her leaf-like small hand in Eric’s palm, and he naturally took it, as if holding a young sister, and began searching for the cruise ship they were about to board at the dock.
Canalave City didn’t have dedicated boats to and from Kitakami; rather, it was a stop on a route, with only two ships docking on the island daily.
“The current timeline should be several years earlier than the Scarlet and Violet storyline.” “Kitakami is just an obscure little place even in the storyline,” Eric mused about Kitakami-related information while enjoying the sea breeze on the cruise ship’s deck.
“Not to mention now, its development is probably much more backward than during the storyline period.” The Pokémon world is different from Earth; there is no concept of nations here.
Instead, there is a special organization called the League.
However, the internal management of the League is quite loose.
Simply put, there are no so-called superiors and subordinates here; every city, town, and village is independent.
The League’s high-ranking officials supervise various regions through positions such as inspectors and investigators.
In addition, there are the Joy Family and Jenny Family, as well as the noble class in each region, and the newly emerging merchants and wealthy magnates.
Whether a certain town or village can develop depends entirely on the presence of developers and inherent resources.
For example, the old woman who built a seaside city in the anime, or companies that pollute the environment to build factories, and larger ones like Silph Co., Devon Corporation, etc., these belong to developers.
And inherent resources are actually scenic spots, Pokémon legends, unique festivals, famous events, and so on.
This also leads to significant differences in the thoughts and cultures of people in different regions of the Pokémon world.
Advanced places have already entered the information age.
Backward ones might still be in the primitive tribal era, unaware of even the existence of the League, let alone televisions or computers.
After all, strictly speaking, the establishment of the League was only sixty or seventy years ago.
As for those fanfiction novels that talk about things like Victory Road, a game that records various Pokémon abilities and data for real-time battles…
And even live streaming, creating a globally connected network, Eric has nothing more to say.
To create such a game, you would not only need to connect all regions but also invite doctors from all over the world, invite Trainers who own these 800 types of Pokémon, and complete academic papers on the characteristics, attributes, skills, and personalities of different individuals of each Pokémon.
What company has the strength for such a massive project?
Even if there was, why would the copyrights and secrets involved be given to a private enterprise?
Having been in the Pokémon world for a year and a half, Eric’s most profound experience was the stagnation and monopolization of information.
Staying in Eindoak Town, the types of Pokémon Eric could access were very limited.
If it weren’t for his memories of Earth, he wouldn’t even know that Pokémon like Pikachu existed in this world.
And this is the normal state for most people in the Pokémon world.