–+–
Sera stood staring at the freshly manufactured Fast Ball before her, lost in thought.
The Poké Ball was a striking blend of red and white, inlaid with yellow gemstones on both sides, with a jagged lightning bolt pattern etched in yellow Tumblestone across the top.
It was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a Fast Ball—one of the legendary Apricorn balls.
As a member of the Apricorn ball family, the Fast Ball was designed to snag speedier Pokémon with ease, significantly boosting capture rates.
Because traditional craftsmanship was labor-intensive and mass production impossible, Apricorn balls were incredibly scarce on the open market.
While private collectors might pay a fortune, Kurt typically sold them for anywhere between a few thousand to ten thousand pokedollars.
After all, the cost of the raw Apricorns wasn’t cheap, and since Kurt crafted them primarily for the joy of the trade, he rarely bothered to gouge prices.
Sera had once been curious and looked into the secondary market, only to find these balls being scalped for tens or even hundreds of thousands.
—She honestly felt those people had far too much money.
If they were that desperate, they could have just bought a plane ticket to Azalea Town and paid the master craftsman directly; that amount of money would have been enough to commission a whole dozen.
Still, it spoke volumes about just how coveted these items were.
A special ball that had to be handcrafted and could never be replicated by mere technology would always be in high demand.
“An hour to make one, ten hours a day for ten balls…
Even at Master Kurt’s modest prices, that’s one hundred thousand a day, three million a month…”
Sera did some quick mental math and was momentarily stunned by the result.
At this rate, she could practically call herself the “Sage of Azalea’s Apricorn Balls.”
But she was just joking with herself.
Sera had no intention of spending her entire life hunched over a workbench.
Part of the allure—and the reason for the high price—was the rarity.
If she were to suddenly flood the market with these, she would effectively be putting every Poké Ball artisan in Johto, including Kurt himself, out of business.
—That would be nothing short of betraying her mentor.
With that thought, she immediately snuffed out the urge to put her two remaining Effort Values into Psychic.
She was a bit of a packrat; back when she played Pokémon games, she was the type to hoard items until the very end, never wanting to use them.
Now that she had finally scraped together two Effort Values, she figured she’d just save them until she had a clear, necessary use for them.
Sera found a box in her house, lined the bottom with silk, and carefully placed the Fast Ball inside before shutting the lid.
Since this was meant for Bugsy, the Gym Leader of Azalea Gym, she figured she should at least make the presentation look professional.
With everything prepared, the young girl washed up and headed to bed.
The next morning, Sera woke up right on cue with her biological clock.
The first thing she did was open her simulator.
Ding…
[Ogerpon is fast asleep.]
Little zzz’s floated up from the small creature’s head.
Sera checked her phone; it was only six in the morning, but she was already wide awake.
She fished some leftover curry from the fridge, popped it into the microwave, and began eating while browsing the news.
“The opening ceremony for this year’s Silver Conference is about to begin!
The Indigo League has officially announced that Champion Lance and the League Chairman will be delivering the opening speeches!”
Seeing a familiar face, the spoon in Sera’s hand paused mid-air.
—Indigo League Champion, Lance.
This man had been a constant presence throughout her childhood.
In her past life’s memories, Lance appeared in both the games and the anime, with his role shifting depending on the version.
To this day, Sera still wasn’t sure if the Pokémon world she now inhabited was based on the game, the anime, or some hybrid of both.
She hadn’t seen any news regarding a “protagonist” from any region, but then again, she hadn’t run into a boy from Pallet Town named Ash Ketchum, either.
“Champion Lance, huh…” the girl muttered, lost in reflection.
“Thank goodness the Champions are all still around and things in the regions are stable.
Otherwise, just thinking about those Legendary Pokémon showing up later…
every single one of them sounds like a massive headache.”
But, the sky falling wasn’t really her concern.
She was just a frail, weak-bodied Poké Ball artisan, not a Trainer with the strength to fight back.
Rather than worrying about the future, she was better off figuring out how to raise the little demon in her simulator.
After breakfast, Sera headed out toward Azalea Gym.
The gym was located on the outskirts of Azalea Town, far from the city center and nestled right against the forest.
Since Azalea Gym specialized in Bug-type Pokémon, being near the woods made cultivating and sourcing new Pokémon much more convenient.
As for Bugsy himself, she had never actually met him.
“Hello, I’m an apprentice of Kurt’s, my name is Sera,” the girl said, greeting the guard at the entrance.
“I’m here to deliver an order for Gym Leader Bugsy.
Is he in today?”
She remembered that in the original stories, Bugsy often spent his time in Ilex Forest or the National Park, searching for rare Bug-types.
Fortunately, the guard confirmed he was currently in the gym, or else she would have had to entrust the delivery to the staff.
—Wait, if the guard had taken it, wouldn’t I have been able to go home immediately and play with Ogerpon?
While she was lost in thought, the guard made a quick call.
A moment later, a purple-haired boy carrying a bug-catching net appeared before her.
“You’re the apprentice from Kurt’s workshop?”
Bugsy looked even younger than Sera.
He propped the handle of his net against the ground and studied her.
Seeing the delicate, beautiful features of the white-haired girl and noting her youth, he seemed just as surprised as she was.
“I’ve heard your name.
Master Kurt mentions you occasionally, saying you’ll definitely be a great artisan one day.”
That was news to her.
Kurt had lived in Azalea for years and was the most famous artisan in Johto; it was no surprise that Bugsy knew him well.
But the idea that the old man would talk about her?
She’d been working as his understudy for three years and this was the first time she’d ever heard of him bringing her up.
…Was she really that much of a shut-in?
“A great artisan?
I don’t dare call myself that just yet,” the white-haired girl replied, offering a polite, practiced smile.
“But Master Kurt asked me to craft a Fast Ball for Gym Leader Bugsy, and I’ve brought it here today.”
“Oh, oh!
That was much faster than I expected!”
Bugsy leaned his net against the wall and took the box with both hands, looking quite formal.
He had been looking forward to this Fast Ball for a long time.
At her nod, he opened the lid, revealing the Fast Ball, which lay quietly inside, reflecting a brand-new, polished luster.