Tia positioned her rented Bicycle at the top of Cycling Road, a wave of anticipation filling her, knowing it was all downhill from there.
“Ready, Naito?” she asked, smiling at the Natu perched on her shoulder.
Naito tweeted, a little reluctantly. “Tut-tuu!”
“Hold on tight, and don’t let go!” she said. “And… GO!” She pushed off and pedaled down the hill, gravity helping on the way down. The grass and trees whizzed by in a blur.
Meanwhile, Tia kept looking around her, waiting to find a Pokemon – wait! There was one! A Doduo, running at high speed and managing to keep up with her breakneck pace.
She pulled out a Quick Ball, expanded it, and threw it at the Doduo, not worrying at the moment whether the capture would be successful. She spied another Doduo and threw another Quick Ball.
She heard a whinny, and looked over to see a small herd of Ponyta running alongside her. She threw a couple of Quick Balls at the herd, then continued on her way.
She continued throwing Quick Balls all the way down the hill, until she finally saw the bottom.
“Okay, there’s our stop!” she shouted, her fingers hovering over the brakes. “Hold on!” She gripped the brakes and the Bicycle jerked as it immediately slowed down.
“Wheee!” Tia shouted gleefully, sliding the Bicycle out as she braked near the bottom of the hill. She laughed, feeling like a kid again. Then she glanced over at her shoulder.
“You okay there, Naito?”
Naito remained perched on her shoulder, but wobbly, and his eyes dizzily swirled around. “Tuuuuu…”
Tia laughed, then pulled out her Pokedex. It was time to test out the latest piece of tech she had bought – mini teleporters that she had painstakingly attached onto every Quick Ball she threw on the way down the hill. Push a button on the Pokedex, and the teleporters would retrieve every Quick Ball that successfully caught a Pokemon. Aidan had recommended them to her the last time he had called – “I saw them for sale and immediately thought of you!” he had said.
Tia tapped a button on the Pokedex, and the air in front of her shimmered. Fifteen Quick Balls emerged out of thin air, followed by five empty teleporters. She nodded, satisfied. Fifteen Quick Balls out of the twenty total she had thrown down the hill had successfully captured Pokemon. She deftly removed the mini teleporters from each Ball and carefully packed them all away. They would come in handy again.
After setting up her workstation, Tia plugged in one of the Quick Balls.
Doduo
Level 25
Gender: Male
Encounter Turn: 1
Capture Rate: 3.9
She stared up the hill thoughtfully as she packed up her workstation. Then, with a smile, she unpacked the teleporters, grabbed a handful of Quick Balls, and attached them. She closed and shouldered her pack, picked up the Bicycle, and started pedaling back up the hill.
Naito looked back at her, startled. “Tuut-tuut?”
“Exactly what it looks like,” Tia said cheerfully, “We’re doing another round!”
“Tuuuu!”
“Oh, come on, Naito. It was fun!”
“Tuu-tuuuu…” Naito looked resigned, while Tia continued to pedal, very much looking forward to flying down the hill again.
The mini-teleporters were something I came up with to try and simulate Legends: Arceus' way of registering captures no matter where the Poke Ball is, without having to walk up to them and pick them up. Very handy!