Pokemon: Skybound

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As Kai walked up beside her, Sabrina turned to glance at the Scyther that was still standing there, seemingly lost without their leader.

"Are we really just leaving like this? These Scythers lost their leader what will happen to them now?"

Hearing her say this, Kai was momentarily surprised and gave her a curious look.

That didn't sound like something she would normally say! If anything, it sounded more like something he would say!

But after thinking about it, it made sense. After spending so much time together and experiencing so many things side by side, their bond had grown stronger. It was only natural that, without realizing it, she was gradually being influenced by him.

And as they changed, their perspectives aligned more and more. Given enough time, they might even come to see the world in the same way.

"Don't worry about them," Kai shrugged nonchalantly. "They won't be wiped out. This world is cruel always full of surprises and unexpected turns. By tomorrow? Maybe even by tonight, they'll probably have already fought to determine a new leader. Maybe even that Scyther that lost earlier will return after recovering, hoping to reclaim its place."

Sabrina nodded lightly.

She had only asked out of curiosity. Truthfully, she felt no sympathy for the Scyther. Now that Kai had explained things, her curiosity was satisfied, and she lost all interest.

Pushing aside the branches, the two of them walked out of the forest.

Kai reached for his belt and, without making any obvious motion, a Poké Ball suddenly vanished!

As it turned out, capturing Scyther had brought his total Pokémon count to thirteen. And per League regulations, as well as the mechanics of the Trainer's belt, any Pokémon exceeding the six-Pokémon limit would automatically be sent back to Professor Cerise's lab.

After some thought, Kai had chosen to send Blastoise back.

After all, he already had Gyarados on his team. Both were water types, and their roles overlapped slightly. After weighing his options, he decided it was best to transfer Blastoise.

Just then, his phone finally regained signal, and he felt it vibrate. When he checked it, he saw that he had received a message from Professor Ivy!

Not only that his phone also showed that she had tried calling him half an hour ago!

Strange. What could she want?

Despite his curiosity, Kai didn't call back immediately. Instead, he first sent a message to Chloe, Professor Cerise's daughter.

In his message, he explained the situation to Blastoise and asked her to take care of it for him.

Chloe's response came almost instantly.

Chloe: Don't worry! I'll take good care of it. I'll check on it as soon as I get back to the lab!

At the end of her message, she even included a cute smiling emoji.

A warmth filled Kai's heart as he read it, but at the same time, he chuckled. Wasn't Chloe supposed to be in the middle of her class? And yet here she was, texting right away!

Shaking his head slightly, he looked up and noticed Sabrina staring at him with a knowing expression.

His heart tensed slightly, and he quickly wiped the amusement off his face, pretending to focus on his phone as he opened Professor Ivy's message.

Ever since their relationship had deepened, Sabrina had become even more possessive of him. Any sign of him flirting around, real or imagined, was strictly unacceptable!

Not that Kai minded. In fact, he was more than happy about it.

After all, the more she acted this way, the more it showed how much she cared about him.

Satisfied that nothing was out of the ordinary, Sabrina finally looked away.

With a quiet sigh of relief, Kai turned his full attention to Professor Ivy's message.

At first glance, it was quite long. Skimming through it, he realized that she had initially tried to call him. When she didn't get through, she sent the message instead.

As for the content, it wasn't anything too urgent it was just an update on her research.

She and Professor Oak had finally completed their studies on Shamouti Island and had just published their final research paper. She had specifically messaged him to share the news!

At the bottom of her message, she had included a link. When Kai clicked on it, he was taken to a well-known academic website.

Right there on the page was the research paper, published under both Professor Oak's and Professor Ivy's names.

Reading through it, Kai noticed that compared to the earlier drafts, the final version contained a lot of new content. However, one thing hadn't changed his Butterfly Effect Theory was still included, along with his name in the credits.

How did he feel about it?

Well… it was definitely exciting. But beyond that, he didn't feel much else.

In the end, all it really meant was that he had gained another academic title. It didn't change his life in any real way.

Still, after some thought, he decided to give both Professor Oak and Professor Ivy a call.

When Professor Oak answered, their conversation was brief and polite. Since they didn't know each other well, there wasn't much to talk about. However, even within their small talk, Kai could tell that Professor Oak had a vested interest in him.

After all, Oak surely knew that Kai, as the Indigo League Champion, had immense potential. Given the right growth, his future was limitless!

For someone of Professor Oak's stature, there was no need to curry favour with anyone. But maintaining good relations with a promising Trainer was certainly a worthwhile endeavour.

Compared to Oak, Professor Ivy was far more enthusiastic.

Her warm and charming demeanour made their conversation quite pleasant, and she even threw in a few playful jokes.

By the end of their call, she extended an invitation, urging Kai to visit her research lab whenever he had the time.

But with Sabrina right beside him, Kai definitely wasn't about to accept such an offer outright. He could only offer a vague, noncommittal response.

After hanging up, he noticed that Sabrina was already growing impatient.

Smiling, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, "Sorry for the wait. Let's get moving!"

Just as he was about to summon Charizard, Sabrina suddenly stopped him.

"Wait a minute. Let's switch things up this time. Flying everywhere has gotten a little boring."

Hearing this, Kai paused and considered it. After a moment, he pointed toward the nearby town.

"Actually, I noticed a passenger ship docked at the port earlier. Why don't we check if it has a suitable route for us?"

Sabrina had no objections, so they retraced their steps back to the small town on the Island.

It didn't take long for them to reach the port.

Even from a distance, they could see a medium-sized passenger ship, roughly three to four stories tall, anchored in the bay.

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