"Thank you for the help." Mewtwo said.
"No problem. Just watch me!" Rei patted his chest proudly, ready to showcase his true skills.
He may not be the strongest when it comes to battling, but in the art of Poké Ball crafting, he—Rei—could definitely rank in the top three!
Clear the stage. It's time for me to shine!
With high spirits, Rei began crafting. Utilizing a variety of materials, he quickly got to work assembling a Poké Ball.
In less than an hour, a finely crafted Poké Ball lay in his hand.
"Look at this! Isn't it far more refined than the ones you buy off the shelf?" Rei handed the Poké Ball to Paul with confidence.
Paul examined it briefly, then nodded. "It is."
Clearly, Rei had skill. If he were given the materials for a Master Ball, Paul figured he could probably pull it off.
"Well? Want me to show it again?" Rei asked Mewtwo with a grin.
Mewtwo shook its head gently. "There's no need. I understood it."
"These are the tools and the furnace I use to make Poké Balls. Feel free to use them."
"No need. I won't require them."
As a Psychic-type with multiple abilities at its disposal, Mewtwo didn't need conventional tools. Though it had never learned Flamethrower or Ice Beam, it had seen other Pokémon use those techniques countless times and knew how to conjure flame, water, or ice with ease. And when it came to shaping materials, no mold was better than telekinesis.
Before Rei could process what was happening, Mewtwo was already crafting a Poké Ball in midair using only its psychic powers.
"This is far from perfect. There are several areas that can be optimized." Mewtwo commented, dissatisfied with the result despite it being its first try after watching Rei work.
It tossed the ball to Paul, then began trying again.
With each subsequent Poké Ball, Mewtwo's speed and precision improved drastically. By its fifth attempt, it had matched Rei's level. By the tenth, it had started crafting other variants. By the twentieth, it had mastered the entire Poké Ball catalog.
Roughly two hours in, Mewtwo was simultaneously crafting four or five different types of Poké Balls at once. Rei stood petrified, his confidence shattered.
To be completely outclassed in your proudest field—not by a person, but by a Pokémon? Rei now understood how crushing that could be.
"Not bad. Simpler than I imagined. Easier than getting stronger." Mewtwo remarked, tossing the last batch of Poké Balls to Paul.
Silence. Defeat. Existential crisis.
Rei leaned against a tree, staring up at the sky at a 45-degree angle with a blank look that screamed: Who am I? Where am I? What am I even doing?
"Hey! Hey! Heeey!"
A cheerful, familiar voice rang out. Rei's eyes flickered with life as he turned his head slightly. There she was—Akari, running toward him, her delicate face lit up with joy. The excitement in her expression seemed to carry into her every step, quickening her pace and stirring something within Rei's self-pitying heart.
"You're back, Akari—"
Rei mustered his energy and went to greet her. But the girl brushed right past him, rushing toward Paul with her phone in hand.
"It's been ages, Paul! You're finally back!"
Rei: ?!
Hearing her words behind him, Rei froze as if struck by lightning. Cracks appeared in his soul.
Paul looked at the girl standing before him, eyes shifting slightly. Calmly, he replied, "I told you last time, we'd meet again."
"Hmph. Who knows if you meant it? You've been back for ages and didn't even come looking for me. If my phone hadn't picked up your signal, I wouldn't have known you returned. And to think I rushed all the way from the Fogbound Ruins..."
Akari puffed her cheeks in mock annoyance, but a bright smile quickly spread across her face.
"Still, welcome back!"
"I didn't have your signal on my phone." Paul said, showing her his Rotom Phone. Even though her phone was right there, no unique signal showed up on the specialized detection page.
"Hmm... well, I guess I'll let it slide then."
After checking his phone and seeing he wasn't lying, Akari let the matter drop with ease.
Paul, meanwhile, had another idea. He turned to his phone and said, "Rotom, see if you can establish a signal link with Akari's phone and add her to my contacts."
Rotom hadn't been strong enough to do this before. Even if it had, the connection would've likely been useless. But now that it had grown more powerful, Paul suspected that interdimensional communication might no longer be out of reach.
Besides, making contact with the so-called "strongest protagonist" from the game-universe's real-world setting was a good investment.
"Oh, right! That might work! Rotom, let's try it!" Akari exclaimed. She eagerly held her phone up and tapped it against Paul's.
"Please wait. Attempting to connect and sync..."
After a short pause, both phones lit up at the same time, showing they had successfully added each other as contacts. Each now had the other listed on a separate specialized page.
"Awesome! If we can chat between worlds, I can annoy you whenever I get bored—"
"I'll ignore it."
Her fantasy was cut short by Paul's blunt reply.
"Haha, just kidding! I have work to do. I still need to reach my goal!"
At the mention of her goal, Akari's eyes filled with determination.
Before arriving in Hisui, she didn't know exactly what she wanted. She figured it had something to do with Pokémon—maybe becoming a Trainer, a Breeder, or something else.
But since coming to Hisui, her goals had become clear: first, to meet more Pokémon... and second, to go home!
Paul suddenly recalled how, in the game, even after completing the main storyline and earning Arceus's approval by nearly getting crushed under its judgment, Akari still hadn't returned to the modern world.
Arceus never addressed the issue of sending her back. Instead, it created a clone of itself to be her companion, inviting her to explore the world's wonders together.
Classic move: take responsibility for bringing her here, but not for sending her back.
Paul found himself wondering, was the Arceus that brought him over and upgraded his phone really the same entity as the one in Hisui? That one seemed... a bit off.
All things considered, maybe he got the better deal.
With a rare touch of sincerity, Paul said, "Good luck."
"Of course! Everything I lost in the past, I'm going to take it all back!"
Akari clenched her tiny hand in the air, eyes gleaming as she pictured the soft, cozy bed she once had back in the modern world, and the Snorlax plush that used to nap on it without a care in the world.
(End of Chapter)
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