Caleb ended up going to find Cynthia...
When he teleported to Veilstone City, Cynthia was cleaning the temporary room the Sinnoh League had prepared for her. She looked genuinely surprised by his sudden visit.
Setting down her mop, she took off her mask and walked over to the sink to wash her hands, saying, "Isn't the Unova League pretty busy right now? How come you have time to drop by?"
Caleb just shrugged and released several of his Pokémon. Both Mewtwos stayed put, and he didn't push them.
He answered, "Dragonite wanted to see your Garchomp, so I brought him over to hang out for a bit."
The moment Dragonite popped out of his Poké Ball and heard his name, the chonky dragon immediately plopped his head onto Caleb's and beamed happily at Cynthia: "Wuuu!"
"Oh, I see!" Cynthia smiled warmly and released her own Pokémon, letting them wander off to play.
Caleb spotted the Charmander he had given her during that New Year's festival, though it was now a Charmeleon.
He scritched Dragonite's chubby cheek and gently shoved the chonky dragon aside.
Glancing over at Mimikyu and Celebi, who were already roughhousing with Cynthia's team, he asked, "Anything else that needs cleaning?"
Cynthia didn't stand on ceremony. She pointed toward the yard outside and said, "That patch of grass needs trimming. I haven't stayed here in ages. I only got back yesterday and haven't had time to deal with it yet."
She pointed him to the shed and added, "The lawn mower should be in the storage shed."
Caleb walked over, opened the door, and was hit with a musty smell, "Yep... definitely hasn't been used in a while."
After rummaging around for a bit, he finally dug the lawn mower out from the very bottom. He hit the power button to test it and found it had zero charge.
He wheeled it outside and said, "It's out of power."
Cynthia had expected that. She came over, took the mower, and pulled out a charging cable, "It just needs a bit of charging. By the way, are you in a rush to head back?"
"Not at all," Caleb said, rummaging through his inventory, "Is there anything else you need help with?"
"Not really," Cynthia chuckled softly, "I was just wondering if you have time to stay for lunch."
"Of course I do." Caleb pulled a large pair of gardening shears from thin air, "Found them! Today, you'll witness the legendary skills of Master Gardener Caleb!"
Cynthia couldn't help but laugh, "It's just mowing the lawn. No need to make a big deal out of it."
"I've got nothing better to do anyway," Caleb said casually.
He grabbed the shears and got to work, snipping away at the waist-high grass while his Pokémon watched curiously from the sidelines.
Cynthia stood under the eaves, watching him with an amused sigh. After reminding him to be careful not to cut himself, she went back to her chores.
They didn't finish the big cleanup until noon. Cynthia's cheeks were flushed from the work, and beads of sweat glistened on her forehead.
Caleb handed her a damp towel he had prepared, asking, "What's for lunch?"
At the mention of food, a chorus of stomach growls erupted from the Pokémon nearby.
Cynthia thought for a moment, "Looks like we'll have to eat out... the fridge is empty."
Caleb shook his head, "No, I meant what do you want to eat?"
He pulled Cynthia into the dining room, and started pulling out meals Gardevoir had prepped earlier from his inventory.
Sweet potato strings, pan-fried crucian carp, braised prawns, red-braised spare ribs, steamed tofu with egg…
Because time inside a player's inventory was frozen, anything stored inside stayed exactly as it was when put in. So the dishes were still steaming hot.
Ever since that survival Instance on the deserted island where he'd gone hungry, Caleb had learned his lesson. Now he always stocked his inventory with plenty of food and essentials before every Instance run.
In fact, before entering this Instance, he even spent 3000 points at the Infinite Store to buy a black SUV that didn't even belong in this world…
Cynthia's eyes widened as she stared at the food before her. She exclaimed, "What on earth do you keep in your inventory?! First a pair of gardening shears, now full meals?! What else can you pull out?!"
She honestly couldn't imagine.
Caleb didn't think much of it. He had lived with Cynthia for years. He didn't guard himself around her like he did with others. So when she asked, he just answered casually, "Nothing special. Just some daily necessities."
Cynthia tilted her head curiously and asked, "Can I take a look?"
Caleb raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"
"If it's inconvenient, forget it," Cynthia quickly said, her usual composure returning.
"It's not that…" Caleb hesitated, then sighed, "Never mind, come with me."
They walked out to the yard. Caleb opened his inventory panel and started dumping everything out, grid by grid.
Full heal potions for Pokémon, a full set of Poké Balls, a few basic Evolution Stones, a lighter, an iron pot, a king-sized bed, and so on...
Eventually, he got impatient and just started dumping everything out.
With a loud clatter, the yard was soon piled high with random items.
Cynthia stared, utterly speechless... especially at the unfamiliar black SUV sitting right in the middle.
Caleb gestured at the mess and said, "That's about it. If you see anything you like, feel free to take it."
"No," Cynthia said, swallowing hard, "I'm good."
As she spoke, a silver ring tumbled from the top of the pile and landed right at her feet.
Caleb's gaze followed it. Cynthia crouched down and picked it up.
The moment Caleb saw it, memories came rushing back...
He recalled that it was an item he'd farmed during that Extreme Realm Instance. There'd been a pair, but since he couldn't see its effect, he had just tossed them to the bottom of his storage.
He didn't think much of it. Seeing Cynthia studying the ring so intently, he casually said, "If you like it, you can have it."
"The inscription on this… I think I've seen it before in some ruins," Cynthia said, furrowing her brows as she tried to recall.
"There's writing?" Caleb raised an eyebrow. He hadn't noticed any.
Cynthia nodded, holding the ring up, "It's a rare and ancient script. Unfortunately, based on the knowledge humanity currently has, we can't decipher it."
Caleb leaned in for a look, but all he saw were faint decorative patterns. He was baffled, "Those patterns are writing?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Nothing," Caleb shook his head. He had always assumed those were just meaningless ornamental engravings...