~Mahogany Town~
"Krabby, now's our chance, use Bubble Beam!"
Krabby thrust its claws forward, unleashing a barrage of bubbles that crossed midair and struck the opposing Flareon dead-on.
"F-flaaa…" Flareon let out a pained cry before collapsing, unable to continue battling.
The referee at the edge of the battlefield raised a white flag: "Flareon is unable to battle! The winner of this Gym Challenge is Trainer Keith!"
"Yes!" The boy, clearly no older than ten and fresh on his journey, rushed forward and hugged his Krabby tightly, "Krabby, did you see that? We won!"
"Kraa!" Krabby beamed, rubbing the back of its head with one claw in a strangely human-like gesture.
The boy and his Pokémon laughed together in pure joy.
Lily, as Gym Leader, smiled warmly. She stepped forward and handed the boy a beautifully crafted badge, "Congratulations. This badge belongs to you."
The boy took it with both hands, holding it above his head and staring at it wide-eyed.
This was his very first badge, and it marked the starting point of his life as a Trainer...
...
In the spectator area, Caleb watched the boy's joyful little gestures with a wistful look.
"I had dreams like that when I was a kid," he said softly.
Cynthia turned to him, her gaze gentle.
"I dreamed of picking up my first Pokémon from the Professor," Caleb continued, "Camping together in the forest, traveling across mountains and seas, meeting new friends in places I'd never seen before."
But as he grew older, life got busier, and that dream got buried deep inside.
Watching this boy, fresh on his journey, Caleb saw a pure and unfiltered joy… a trainer's hope for the future.
But thankfully, he had made it here, even if he wasn't ten anymore.
Cynthia listened quietly. After a pause, she asked carefully, "What were you doing when you were ten?"
'That was over a decade ago.' Caleb thought for a moment, "Probably watching Ultraman."
"Ultraman?"
"Yeah… it's a race of heroes from a TV show. It was a special effects show on TV, one that was super popular with kids back home."
Cynthia paused, then asked carefully, "So, in your world; there are no Pokémon, right?"
Caleb looked at her, unsure how to feel, "Right. This place… it's like a beautiful utopia to me."
Cynthia asked softly, "Will you stay here, then?"
"I will," Caleb said, watching the young Trainer walk away, "I will."
Even if this world wasn't perfect, he'd do everything he could to make it better.
A true utopia, just like the one every child dreams of.
...
"What are you two chatting about?" Lily approached, cradling her injured Flareon. She stuck out her tongue playfully as she handed it to Caleb, "Help me out, please!"
Caleb took Flareon and used the Viridian Power to heal it.
The Pokémon was warm, fluffy, and incredibly soft. Caleb couldn't resist petting it like a cat a few extra times. Flareon didn't resist at all.
Scratching its chin, Caleb said, "Alright, time for dinner. It's about that time."
Lily froze, "You're leaving again?"
Caleb saw her expression, then Cynthia's quiet, attentive gaze, and suddenly didn't want to wander anymore.
He'd already found companionship, friendship, family.
Feelings were mutual. He couldn't keep making others wait for him.
So he said, "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
He made up his mind. This time, he'd return to Infinite World, say goodbye to his friends there, wrap up his affairs, and buy a ticket to settle here for good.
"Okay…" Lily turned away, hiding her disappointment.
Even now, she couldn't forget the moment Caleb died right in front of her.
She'd dreamed of it countless times. It was a haunting obsession that drove her to grow stronger, to find Celebi, to travel from the distant future back to this moment… just to see him again.
Even if they didn't speak. Even if she could only watch from afar.
She missed him so much. Even if he wasn't truly her brother, the warmth he gave her had been undeniably real.
The three of them ate dinner in silence...
Caleb checked the countdown. Five minutes remained.
He got up, gathered his Pokémon from outside, and returned them to their Poké Balls in preparation to leave.
But when he returned to the living room, he found Cynthia on the phone with her expression grim.
A moment later, she hung up and frowned, saying, "Cyrus escaped prison."
Caleb opened his mouth to respond, but his own phone rang.
He answered...
On the other end, Lorelei was sobbing: <..Caleb, Giovanni bombed the League's conference building. Lance, Bruno, and Agatha… they're gone..>
Caleb went numb, "Gone?"
Lorelei's voice cracked: <..They were in a meeting when the explosion happened..>
"Giovanni regained his memories?" Caleb asked, his brows furrowed.
Lorelei looked down at a note in her hand: <..He left a message: 'Get ready for the gift I've prepared for you!'..>
Caleb instantly pieced it together. That message was meant for him. Giovanni knew Lorelei would call.
Just then, a text from an unknown number popped up.
Caleb opened it. The words were clear:
<...Do you like the gift? Lance died because of you...>
Yes. If he hadn't altered Giovanni's memory, if he hadn't handed him over to the Kanto League…
He had provoked Giovanni. Lance, Bruno, and Agatha died because of him.
Caleb's heart sank.
The countdown hit its final second.
With a chime from his panel, everything around him began to change. Cynthia and Lily vanished, replaced by a eheavy darkness.
*Ding!*
[Instance 'Gathering of Dragons' settlement in progress…]
[Plot Exploration: 75%!
Important Hidden Side Quest 'Seeker of Truth' triggered by 0 players!]
[Main Quest evaluation in progress…]
[Evaluation complete! Main quest completed! Due to high difficulty, reward points significantly increased!]
[Congratulations, player!
Reward obtained: 24 680 points!]
[Exclusive Quest completed. Special reward 'DNA Splicer' has been placed in your inventory!]
«Congratulations, player Caleb Chase on obtaining Achievement: ...»
The familiar achievement stormclouds drifted above Pikachu Plaza.
Caleb didn't check his rewards. He stood in his room, staring at his phone screen. The call with Lorelei had disconnected the moment he left the Instance. His phone now showed no signal.
He rarely used the old-school keypad phone from the Pokémon world. Usually, he just tossed it in his inventory and forgot about it.
Now, the screen was flooded with spam messages.
He scrolled through the message history and found a few texts Lance had sent months ago:
<...Merry Christmas!...>
<...Happy New Year!...>