Under Reika's guidance, Caleb arrived in a flower-filled area where he encountered the Mythical Darkrai, the Pitch-Black Pokémon...
Darkrai hovered silently in the air, calmly observing the peaceful coexistence of humans and Pokémon below.
Reika: "There, that's the one!"
- Darkrai: a Dark-type Pokémon said to appear on moonless nights, lulling people into sleep and tormenting them with nightmares...
The moment Caleb saw that shadowy figure, online descriptions of it flashed through his mind.
Darkrai seemed to sense something. It turned its ice-blue eyes toward Caleb before slowly fading into the darkness.
Seeing this, Reika apologized, "Darkrai doesn't like interacting with humans much…"
"It's fine." Caleb didn't mind. He turned his gaze to the vibrant flower field before him.
The air was filled with a sweet floral fragrance, and wild Pokémon like Rattata, Pidgey, and Oddish frolicked happily among the blossoms.
Nearby, a few Anime-style girls were preparing dinner for them.
Reika explained, "These are all wild Pokémon we rescued from the surface. In this era, this is the only thing we can do for them."
....
By evening, Caleb had followed Reika on a tour of the base, gaining a rough understanding of the Resistance's current strength...
What surprised him, however, was that the Resistance didn't have a single battle-ready Pokémon.
Reika's explanation was this:
"We did, sixty years ago. But after Team Rocket abolished the Trainer profession and banned civilians from catching Pokémon, it became impossible."
Moreover, nutritional items like Pokéblocks and Berries were no longer sold on the market. Raising a Pokémon had become extremely difficult.
Caleb hesitated before asking, "Then… how do you fight Team Rocket?"
Before Reika could answer, a gray-haired woman in the corner hefted a black rocket launcher and declared: "With this!"
Caleb: "..."
'Sure enough, this world is truly broken...'
In his mind, he pictured a group of people charging at Rocket HQ with rocket launchers and explosives.
Caleb let out an exhausted sigh.
'They'd probably get caught by Team Rocket's mechanical Pokémon the moment they stepped into the city...'
....
The day passed uneventfully...
After dinner, Caleb received a detailed archive of the Resistance's history from Reika.
He poured himself a glass of water, returned to the room prepared for him, and had just finished showering and changing into pajamas when...
*Knock knock knock*
He slipped his shoes back on and opened the door.
Standing outside was a pink-haired loli in oversized pajamas. She had milky white skin, and was smiling sweetly up at him.
Caleb froze, a giant question mark popping up in his head. He politely asked, "Excuse me… who are you?"
He didn't recall seeing this little girl during the day...
The pink-haired loli didn't answer. Instead, she suddenly leaped up and wrapped herself around Caleb like an octopus, clinging to his neck.
Caleb: "???!!!"
The Resistance-issued pajamas were slippery, and the loli's body began sliding downward.
Instinctively, he reached out to get a hold of her, but his hands landed on two soft and squishy mounds...
Their pose was extremely awkward.
The loli's arms were still looped around Caleb's neck, her little butt resting in his palms. She even tilted her head up and gave him a bright innocent smile.
Caleb immediately let go and tried to push her away... But at this moment, Kai happened to walk down the hallway, fresh from his return to Rocket City.
Kai: "?!?!"
His eyes bulged in shock and he exclaimed, "Nozomi-chan! What are you doing?!"
Finally managing to shove the little girl off, Caleb thought: 'Damn it, since when do kids have this much strength?!'
Nozomi plopped onto the floor but didn't seem upset. She simply stood up and blinked innocently at Kai.
Only then did Caleb realize something was off.
Kai seemed to notice too. He frowned at the pink-haired loli, "Latias?"
"Wu~"
A white glow enveloped the little girl as she transformed back into her true form... Latias. Given how smoothly Latias did it, this clearly wasn't her first time pulling this stunt.
Caleb: "..."
Kai clutched his chest, "You scared me to death…"
At that moment, Latios arrived, searching for his sister. Taking one look at everyone's expressions, he immediately understood what had happened and scolded Latias with a stern cry.
With her brother here, Latias could no longer play around. She pouted, but obediently followed Latios away.
Caleb and Kai exchanged a long, exasperated look.
Kai had already heard about Caleb's arrival, but Reika hadn't mentioned Mewtwo.
He blinked and asked, "Where's Mewtwo?"
"With me. It agreed to cooperate." Caleb replied with a slight frown.
For some reason, he felt Mewtwo wasn't acting quite right...
"YES! That's amazing!" Kai howled excitedly, pumping his fists.
Caleb: "..."
After bouncing around for a bit, Kai turned back and said, "You've had a long day. Get some rest. We've got a tough battle ahead. I'll leave you to it. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight." Caleb twitched his lips, closing the door behind him.
After a moment's thought, he released all his Pokémon, then turned to Mewtwo with concern...
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Mewtwo's mood was somber. It didn't speak, only shaking its head to indicate there was no need to worry.
Mimikyu, who was clutching a bag of nuts, hopped over to Caleb, who helped open the packaging before approaching Mewtwo.
He gently placed a hand on its arm...
Aside from healing, the Viridian Power also allowed him to sense Pokémon's emotions.
With other Pokémon, Caleb could easily grasp their thoughts. But now… all he felt was an empty void.
This only happened under two circumstances:
- The Pokémon was dead...
- The Pokémon had closed off its heart, refusing to communicate.
Feeling Caleb's touch, Mewtwo finally snapped out of its thoughts, looking up in confusion.
Caleb pointed to the bed and casually offered, "Want to sleep there?"
The bed was large enough for him, Mimikyu, Lucario, and Mewtwo... though Dragonite would have to sleep elsewhere.
But Mewtwo refused. It had no requirements for resting environments. Even a cold hard cave was sufficient for it to sit in from dusk till dawn.
Caleb pulled out some food from his inventory, "Alright… are you hungry? Want to eat something?"
Mewtwo: "..."