–+–
“Sera!”
As the young girl stepped out of the house, a little girl came running out after her.
Maizie held out a bag of round apricorns.
“Sera, these are the ingredients Master Kurt asked me to give you, along with your tools.”
–+–
So, Master Kurt really was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish the job, Sera thought.
The white apricorns used for making Fast Balls were quite expensive to buy elsewhere.
Sera decided to accept the old craftsman’s kind gesture for the time being.
“Make sure you do a good job!
Don’t go embarrassing the craft of Azalea Town,” the little girl said, intentionally deepening her voice to mimic the old man.
As soon as she finished, both of them burst into laughter.
“Are you leaving now, Sera?”
“Yeah.
Even though I haven’t decided exactly where to go yet, I won’t be staying in the workshop from here on out.”
Since she claimed to be finished with her apprenticeship, staying in the workshop would have just made her feel uneasy.
Besides, Poké Balls could be made anywhere; craftsmanship relied on the artisan’s skill, not industrialized machinery.
“Well…
just do your best!” Maizie thought for a moment before pumping a tiny fist into the air to cheer her on.
Children didn’t harbor much sadness over goodbyes.
After all, even if Sera left, they had already exchanged contact information.
This wasn’t the final goodbye; just the next step.
Sera returned to her apartment, bag in her left hand and tool kit in her right.
Once home, she set the items down and immediately opened the simulator.
It had only been half a day, but she already missed her Ogerpon.
–+–
“…Oger-pon?!”
In Kitakami, inside the Dreaded Den, Ogerpon felt the familiar, gentle presence return and jumped up in surprise.
She was so excited that she completely forgot she was still inside the stone cave; she jumped right into the ceiling.
“Oger…
pon-ooo…”
Ogerpon clutched her head.
While she wasn’t actually hurt, the lingering dizziness made her stumble and spin in circles.
Snicker.
She wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but Ogerpon could have sworn she heard a faint, girl-like giggle.
Moments later, she felt something touch the top of her head.
“Oger-pon-oh!”
Great, she thought, it wasn’t a dream after all.
She enjoyed the gentle petting for a little while, but suddenly, the sensation vanished.
The presence, however, remained.
After a short pause, Ogerpon saw something drop in front of her.
It was just like the Cheri Berry that had appeared out of thin air yesterday, but today, it was a round, bouncing ball.
“Oger-pon?”
–+–
[Ogerpon has sensed your presence.]
[Ogerpon is very happy.]
[You have tossed a Gible-style toy ball to Ogerpon.]
Sera dragged the newly purchased ball onto the screen.
Compared to berries, items in the toy category were quite pricey; the Gible ball was one of the cheaper ones, yet it still cost Sera 3 Raising Points.
Toys from the system allowed Pokémon to gain Effort Values (EVs) during playtime, and the Gible ball specifically provided a minor boost to Attack.
Sera didn’t know Ogerpon’s exact base stats, but given her “Defiant” ability, Attack was bound to be her most important attribute.
Sera tapped the ball, and it began to bounce in front of Ogerpon.
“Oger-pon!”
The pixelated Ogerpon on the screen immediately caught the ball and tossed it back toward the direction of the screen.
[Ogerpon has begun playing with you.]
The process was like a mini-game.
Sera had to keep tapping the screen to catch the ball and toss it back.
It wasn’t just about timing; she had to aim carefully.
If the toss was too easy, the combo counter wouldn’t increase, and if either Sera or Ogerpon missed, the combo reset to zero.
Ogerpon wasn’t very skilled at catching the ball at first, but after ten minutes of play, she mastered the technique.
Once the combo reached ten, the system prompted:
[Daily play benefit reached.
Ogerpon’s Attack effort value has increased slightly by 1 point!]
Is that it?
Sera was still having fun and held onto the ball, hesitating.
[Ogerpon wants to keep playing with you.]
“Oger-pon-oh!”
Ogerpon hopped up and down on the spot.
–+–
Well, let’s keep going then.
Sera continued to toss the ball to Ogerpon.
The system was so realistic that Sera had long since stopped thinking of these as just data points.
She enjoyed the joy of playing with Ogerpon and didn’t care about the efficiency.
They played for another half hour until the system chimed again:
[Ogerpon is getting a little tired.]
“Oger-pon…”
Ogerpon panted, clutching the ball.
She cherished it, placing it carefully in the corner next to her mask.
Sera noticed a few Cheri Berries that looked a bit dried out sitting beside it as well.
No matter how many times she thought about it, Sera was still amazed.
Even if she was just playing a game, the “Electronic Pokémon Raising System” blew every other Pokémon game from her past life out of the water.
This vivid, lifelike sense of raising a creature truly made Sera feel like she was looking after a real Pokémon.
[Ogerpon is quietly keeping you company.]
Even when she did nothing but watch the screen, the system would send notifications from time to time.
‘How can Ogerpon be this cute!’
The little sprite on the screen swayed, spinning in circles, seemingly very happy.
However, as much as she enjoyed the quiet company, Sera remembered today’s random quest.
–+–
[Quest: Ogre of Oni Mountain]
[For years, Ogerpon has been called an evil monster by the world.
To make that name ring true, set out on the path to conquer the Oni Mountain with Ogerpon!]
[Objective: Defeat 10 Pokémon on the mountain.
Any level is acceptable.
Current progress: 0/10]
–+–
Sera had never seen Ogerpon fight.
So far, the Ogerpon she knew seemed soft, timid, and afraid of the outside world.
But if the system lore called her an “evil monster,” then either there was a misunderstanding, or Ogerpon had a side that Sera had yet to see.
Perhaps that side would emerge in battle.
That’s it!
I’ll guide Ogerpon to battle!
Sera tapped the mask in the corner of the screen and tried to drag it.
She didn’t have a physical body in the raising interface, but dragging the screen served a similar purpose.
–+–
Ogerpon suddenly felt the mask in the corner being nudged, and the presence beside her began to move away.
“Oger-pon-oh?”
This was the first time the presence had actively moved away from her.
Ogerpon didn’t have time to ponder why; she hurriedly stood up, eager to follow.
But as she realized the presence had left the cave and was heading toward the mountain, she hesitated for a moment, remembering how the presence had touched her mask before leaving.
Is this…
a sign for me to put the mask on?