This is the outskirts of Hau'oli City, located southeast of Melemele Island, connecting Hau'oli City with Ten Carat Hill and Melemele Sea.
The map on the panel showed this, and a small avatar marked Hoshino's location.
The sky was gradually dimming, and he walked alone on the beach, listening to the sound of waves crashing against the rocks not far away. The anxiety he felt earlier had completely vanished, replaced by a sense of calm.
Against the backdrop of Hau'oli City's distant neon lights, he felt a strange familiarity. Whether in the past or now, he was always alone, but now he could make a change!
"Let me see the performance of the Rotom Phone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, some shiny spots instantly appeared on the map in front of him. This was the function of the Help System, and these shiny spots represented the Pokémon around him that needed help.
"It doesn't seem like many..."
Hoshino looked at the map and roughly estimated the distance. The farthest one was 478 meters away from him, so this should only display within 500 meters.
Since it only showed shiny spots and not Pokémon avatars, he could only go to the closest one to check first, hoping it wasn't a hungry Pokémon.
Although there were many Pokémon on the beach at night, most of them were Pyukumuku.
These little guys liked to stay on shore, even when hungry, and would constantly return to their original spot even if thrown away.
As the sky was completely dark now, coupled with Pyukumuku's black body, it was easily hidden by the environment. Hoshino accidentally stepped on one and then got punched...
"Ow, ow, ow, it's too much to jump up and punch me in the face." He rubbed his face and finally confirmed his destination, looking at the shore not far away.
There was a figure lying motionless on the beach, letting the rolling waves wash over its body, and several Mareanie were approaching, possibly mistaking it for food.
"Drowned and washed ashore...? Wait a moment, I'm coming to save you!"
Hoshino didn't think too much. The most urgent task was to drive away the Mareanie, so he quickly picked up a Pyukumuku at his feet and threw it at them!
The Pyukumuku, already thrown and now in mid-air, finally reacted, triggering its Innards Out ability. A left hook flew out of its mouth with a punch, precisely knocking the Mareanie away.
Seizing the opportunity for Pyukumuku to return to its original spot, Hoshino immediately approached, preparing to drag that Pokémon ashore and find a drier place to let it air out.
But as he drew closer and saw the appearance of this Pokémon, he couldn't help but be surprised.
Its appearance resembled a lizard, nearly the length of an adult human. Its overall coloring was primarily green and black, not particularly attractive.
It had a prominent, noticeable protrusion around its neck that looked like a motorcycle tire, and orange circles behind its eyes, similar to turn signals, which should be its ear structure.
"This is... Cyclizar?!"
Hoshino knew a bit about Cyclizar. It was a common household Pokémon in the Paldea Region, found in every home, but he didn't expect it to be in the Alola Region as well.
Surprised, he carefully checked the shiny spot on the map again, confirming that the Pokémon needing help was this Cyclizar. However, the other party was unconscious, so Hoshino could only drag it ashore with effort.
It took him a full two hours to finally drag the Cyclizar under a relatively dry coconut tree. Then he took off his clothes and wiped its body, helping its skin dry faster.
In his impression, Cyclizar was not very tolerant of cold, which is why they chose to use human body temperature to warm themselves, eventually becoming a common mode of transportation in the Paldea Region...
The night sea breeze continued to blow. His clothes, soaked from wiping Cyclizar dry, felt colder than not wearing anything at all.
Hoshino hugged himself and couldn't help but shiver. He felt that if he couldn't find a place to stay soon, he might truly become a Transmigrator who died a second time on the very day he transmigrated.
But just then, his hand, resting on Cyclizar, suddenly felt a slight tremor. Looking sideways, he discovered a sharp, piercing iris, enough to shake the soul, tightly peering at him.
Hoshino instantly froze, his heart and lungs stopping for a moment. At that instant, he felt as if he was being stared at by some primordial beast from an ancient era, but when he looked again, the iris had turned into a black pupil.
"What the hell, was that an illusion...?"
He felt that Cyclizar's pupils had just changed, like someone else's, he forgot who, but now they were gone. Of course, it could also be that it was too dark and he saw it wrong...
But none of that mattered anymore. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he forced a tired smile onto his face and asked, "Are you okay? I saw you lying on the beach with half your body in the water, so I pulled you out."
"Cycli?"
"Are you asking who I am? My name is Hoshino, and for now, I'm unemployed..."
"Cycli~"
Cyclizar suddenly let out a joyful cry, then stood up and rubbed its head against him. It was their first meeting, yet it was unexpectedly enthusiastic.
"Alright, alright..."
Hoshino was also a bit at a loss by Cyclizar's actions. Perhaps it was because he saved it, so this was gratitude?
Just as he thought this, Cyclizar suddenly bit his head...
"Ow, ow, ow!!!"
He pulled his head out with force, luckily it didn't bite hard, but then the panel in front of him suddenly popped up automatically, and then the special effect of getting a reward appeared, just like with the Rotom Phone before.
[Obtained Cyclizar's Friendship: Riding EX (Proficient with all types of riding tools, for Trainer use only)]
"This is..."
Hoshino didn't expect to gain a friendship talent so easily, and judging by the effect, this one seemed to be for his own use only.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. It's not like Pokémon can ride Pokémon, it's not Calyrex.
Besides that, other information was displayed before his eyes again...
[Pokémon: Cyclizar]
[Type: Dragon + Normal]
[Height/Weight: 1.7 m / 66.5 kg]
[Ability: Shed Skin (By shedding its skin, it sometimes heals status conditions)]
[Moves: All forgotten...]
[Status: Amnesia (Because it doesn't know who it is, it has forgotten how to use all its moves), Hungry (So hungry, is there anything to eat?), Cold (A bit cold, hope it can warm up)]
"It actually lost its memory? No wonder it was so easy to get. What a poor fellow..."
But seeing the 'Hungry' status, Hoshino touched his own stomach. Well, he was hungry too, as he hadn't eaten anything yet...
He sighed softly, then stroked Cyclizar's smooth head, showing a helpless smile: "You lost your memory and were washed ashore, and then I rescued you. And I was also inexplicably lying on the beach and picked up by someone. In a way, we're quite similar."
"Cycli Cycli~"
Cyclizar hugged him back, its expression still very happy. Hoshino was completely unaccustomed to such an enthusiastic fellow, it was the first time he had met one.
"You keep saying 'Cycli Cycli,' but I don't understand you..."
He suddenly got a headache, realizing the importance of language communication. He just didn't know if anyone in this world specialized in Pokémon language, or if there was a talent that allowed one to understand their language.
However, as the first Pokémon he truly gained friendship with... although this friendship was incredibly cheap, he was still very happy.
And at this moment, he had already developed some ideas: to own his own Pokémon and become a Trainer!
He also wanted to travel with Pokémon, climb through damp grass, ascend rugged mountains, cross turbulent seas, and stroll through dark caves.
Occasionally, when tired, a touch of homesickness would surface, and in his leisure time, he would return home to visit, spend a brief time with family and partner, and then set off again...
This was his former dream, and this transmigration might just turn that fantasy into reality!
"Come be my Pokémon!"
Hoshino suddenly shouted to Cyclizar. Since the other party had lost its memory, it was homeless just like him, and he couldn't just leave it there.
But after shouting that out, he became a little nervous. After all, this wasn't a game; the Pokémon here were real living creatures, and like humans, they had their own emotions.
Cyclizar stood frozen, continuously scratching its head with its paws, seemingly trying hard to understand the meaning of the sentence, but with its amnesia, it couldn't recall anything.
Just like that, one person and one lizard silently stared at each other in the night. As time slowly passed, two sudden "gurgles" broke the silence.
Hoshino's and Cyclizar's stomachs, at this moment, grumbled uncooperatively and simultaneously.
The tense atmosphere was instantly dispersed by this. He rubbed his stomach, laughing awkwardly, and Cyclizar did the same.
"Haha..."
"Cycli~"
A cheap friendship, perhaps, could eventually grow into an unbreakable bond. Cyclizar happily agreed to become Hoshino's Pokémon.
The first step of the dream begins here, but before that... let's figure out how to save these two guys who are about to starve to death.
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