"What do you mean, 'it's almost time'?"
Rei didn't quite catch Paul's murmur and asked curiously.
"It's nothing. Is there a store around here that sells Poké Balls? I need to stock up."
Paul replied calmly.
"You're running low on Poké Balls? No problem! The Ginkgo Guild is right over here, sells all kinds of them. I'll take you."
Rei waved his hand as he led Paul toward the headquarters of the Galaxy Team. Not that he was dragging Paul into the inner sanctum of his faction, it just so happened that the Ginkgo Guild's cart was set up to the right of the Galaxy HQ building.
They arrived shortly after.
The guild setup was simple, a wagon packed with merchandise. Next to it, a silver-haired man with a lazy expression sat on a stool, while a short-haired woman stood nearby, alert and attentive.
"Rei, here to buy something? We just got a fresh batch of goods. Wanna take a look? Oh, and who's this beside you?"
The woman, Tuli, was the first to greet them. Her name matched her no-nonsense vibe.
"I'm broke! Just bought furniture last week and completely tapped out. Next time for sure!" Rei gave a mock-dejected wave, then gestured to Paul. "This is Paul, a traveler and a friend of Akari. He's here to buy some Poké Balls."
"Oh? Welcome! We've got all sorts of rare items from across Hisui! Take your time and have a good look!"
Tuli's eyes lit up when she heard he was Akari's friend, a VIP client in her eyes.
"Browse freely, Ginkgo Guild's got just about everything."
Even the usually indifferent guild leader, Ginter, perked up and showed off the wares. In no time, a dazzling array of items appeared before Paul's eyes—evolution stones of every type, Dragon Fangs, Power Boosters… you name it, they had it.
"Do you take trade-ins?"
Naturally, Paul didn't have any of the local Hisuian currency on him. Fortunately, he'd brought plenty of spare gear and held items.
"Sure do. We buy all kinds of items. But the trade-in price will be significantly lower than the resale price." Ginter replied.
This wasn't a game, after all. Prices wouldn't be that low, it wouldn't make sense for a reputable guild to scam customers outright. That kind of behavior wouldn't get them far in a place like Jubilife Village.
Soon enough, Paul had offloaded all his excess evolution stones and outdated gear, trading them in for a decent sum of Hisuian currency.
"Do you sell any manuals on crafting Poké Balls?"
Paul recalled that in the game Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Origin Ball was crafted using fragments of the Red Chain and Origin Ore. He figured it might be time to study up on the process.
Before Ginter could answer, Rei quickly volunteered, full of pride:
"You want to learn to make Poké Balls? No need for that, I'm top-tier when it comes to Poké Ball crafting! Just hand over the materials, and I'll do the job for you. I only charge a crafting fee!"
Paul thought back. Come to think of it, in Legends: Arceus, it was Rei who crafted the Origin Ball. If that was true, then as long as he collected the right materials, he'd have everything he needed to produce one quickly.
"Then I'll take you up on that." Paul replied without hesitation. Still, he went ahead and bought a crafting manual from Ginter anyway.
"…?"
Rei slowly raised a question mark in the air.
You're taking me up on it, but then you go and buy a manual? Wasn't that basically saying you don't trust me? So this is how love fades, huh?
"I just prefer to be prepared." Paul said coolly.
After all, who knew what might happen to Rei later? It was better to have a backup plan.
Besides, the reward for all of this—eighteen elemental Arceus plates—was nothing to scoff at.
As for whether he could actually master Poké Ball crafting in such a short time and reach the level needed to make an Origin Ball?
Paul wasn't worried. After all, he had someone with max-level Poké Ball crafting potential in his corner.
That's right: Mewtwo.
Mewtwo's Poké Ball crafting prowess was insane. The custom-made Dark Balls it once forged could not only capture already-captured Pokémon, they could even absorb the original Poké Ball itself.
Granted, those Dark Balls were probably behind him now. But crafting an Origin Ball? That was still well within Mewtwo's reach.
Having thought it all through, Paul spent the rest of his money buying several standard Poké Balls, a copy of each specialized variant for reference, and a bulk supply of raw crafting materials.
By the time he was done, most of his newly earned Hisuian currency had vanished into the ether.
"Thank you for your purchase! Come back any time. Oh, and if you start crafting Poké Balls, we're happy to buy them too!" Tuli said with a cheerful smile as they were about to leave.
"What now, Paul? Want to try some of the local activities—maybe get a haircut, buy a new outfit, take a photo or two?" Rei offered helpfully.
"I'm going to craft Poké Balls." Paul replied.
"Wait, what? Didn't you just buy a whole bunch?!"
Rei was utterly confused, but still led Paul to his usual crafting workspace.
"Hold on, I need to swap out Poké Balls."
Under Rei's puzzled gaze, Paul released a set of Poké Balls and summoned all of his Pokémon.
"Chaaah~
"Raaa~"
"Gaaaar~"
"Vireee~"
"Mew~"
"Draah~"
All six Pokémon, including Mewtwo appeared before Rei.
"Uh… Wait… What—? Are these alpha Pokémon? That Torterra is huge! And this… What even is this Pokémon?! I've never seen it before!"
While he recognized most of them, the mountain-sized Torterra and the clearly extraordinary Mewtwo left Rei completely speechless.
"Spend some time studying this. It shouldn't be difficult for you." Paul said flatly, handing the crafting manual to Mewtwo and beginning the process of swapping their Poké Balls.
"Poké Ball crafting? Ancient artisan method?" Mewtwo sounded confused, as if expecting a training regimen, a thesis, or a secret technique—only to find a basic instruction manual.
Still, it didn't ask any questions. It flipped through the manual at lightning speed.
Out of curiosity, Mewtwo had once looked up modern Poké Ball manufacturing techniques using Rotom Phone—those followed industrial production line methods. Handmade Poké Balls, however, were still unfamiliar.
"This is… interesting. So you do that… then this… and finally that… I see…"
Five minutes later, Mewtwo closed the book, deep in thought. Then it returned the manual to Paul, who had just finished replacing all his Pokémon's Poké Balls.
Rei blinked in disbelief. "You're done?"
"Yes. It wasn't very difficult. I think I've got the hang of it. I'll need to try it out to confirm." Mewtwo said, its voice resonating directly in Rei's mind.
"You can talk? No, wait—it's telepathy?! Incredible! Can you show me a live demonstration? I'd love to see one crafted on the spot!"
Meeting a psychic Pokémon capable of telepathic speech, one that radiated this level of mystery and power—Rei's excitement spiked even higher.
Now was the perfect time to show off in front of a legendary!
(End of Chapter)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to access the advanced chapters, please visit: patreon.com / PMadz_23