“Gaar!”
Garchomp sprang upright so fast it practically launched itself off the counter, hurried back to Cynthia’s side, and cleared its throat.
Then it turned its head and stared very intently in another direction, wearing the expression of a Pokémon that had absolutely not been enjoying itself five seconds ago.
Cynthia gave Felix an apologetic smile.
“Garchomp can be a little awkward about these things sometimes.
Sorry about that.”
Felix set down the comb and waved it off.
“It’s fine.”
He had just spent the last several minutes telling Garchomp about all the glorious things its species had accomplished across various Pokémon games, and judging from its reactions, Garchomp had seemed to enjoy hearing about it.
So why was it suddenly pretending they barely knew each other?
‘Guess it’s the prideful type.’
…
Felix turned back toward Cynthia.
“So?
How was today’s session?
Enjoying yourself?”
Cynthia thought back over everything she had encountered in the game, along with the rewards she had just received, and nodded.
“Very much.”
That was putting it mildly.
She had experienced a kind of excitement during those two Gym battles that she had not felt in a long time, while also learning an extraordinary amount about Pokémon, battle mechanics, and things that might—or might not—exist in reality.
And she had received all of it without paying anything.
All she had done was sit in front of a camera and play a game for two hours.
The thought made Cynthia add sincerely, “If possible, I’d also like you to thank whoever created that game for me.”
“My session is over for today, so I’ll be going.
I’ll come back tomorrow.
Thank you for having me.”
She gave Felix a polite bow and turned toward the door.
“Wait.”
Felix’s voice stopped her.
Cynthia turned back and waited.
Felix hesitated briefly.
“If you don’t mind, there’s something I was hoping you could help me with.”
Her expression immediately became serious.
“Of course.
As long as it’s within my ability, I’ll do what I can.”
Strangely enough, Cynthia felt a little relieved.
She had received so much from this internet café already that Felix asking something of her actually made the situation feel more reasonable.
Perhaps he had known she was the Sinnoh Champion all along.
When she first entered the café and he showed no particular reaction to her identity, Cynthia had assumed he simply did not recognize her.
Now she was beginning to wonder if recognition had never mattered.
Someone who operated a place this extraordinary—a café capable of granting abilities that directly affected reality—might genuinely have no reason to care that much about a regional Champion.
So what did he need from her?
Help in a battle?
League intelligence?
Access to some restricted resource?
Possibilities raced through Cynthia’s mind.
Then Felix spoke.
“Well, the café only just opened, and I really don’t get many customers out here.
If you could recommend the place to some of your friends and bring in a few new people, that’d help a lot.”
Cynthia blinked.
Bring people here…
to use the computers?
That was it?
Felix continued.
“The location is just way too remote.
Under normal circumstances, nobody’s ever going to stumble across the place.”
“And first-time customers have to physically come here once before they can use the café’s teleportation feature.
So if you recommend it to anyone, you’ll need to explain that part too.”
Cynthia blinked again.
She had genuinely assumed that a mysterious café hidden deep within Mount Coronet had been placed there deliberately, perhaps waiting for the right people to discover it.
But judging from Felix’s complaint…
Apparently not.
‘Then why open it in the middle of nowhere in the first place?’
She wisely kept that question to herself.
Instead, Cynthia nodded without hesitation.
“No problem.
I recorded the coordinates when I first came here.
Once I get back, I’ll recommend the café to some friends.”
Felix smiled.
“Great.
Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He turned toward Garchomp and waved.
“You too, Garchomp.
Come back tomorrow.
I’ll tell you about how Garchomp went on to dominate competitive tournaments.”
“Gaar.”
Garchomp immediately turned its head away as though utterly uninterested.
Its tail, however, began swaying behind it.
The betrayal was immediate!
…
Cynthia silently repeated the words Origin Internet Café and stepped through the doorway with Garchomp.
The two vanished instantly.
Felix returned to his seat behind the counter and began thinking.
Just as he expected, asking Cynthia for help had been the right move.
She would definitely bring someone.
The only question was who.
Caitlin?
One of Sinnoh’s Elite Four?
Maybe another Champion she knew?
Felix shrugged.
He would find out when they arrived.
For now…
He glanced outside.
It was around noon, and the weather was clear.
Even if Cynthia immediately contacted someone in Sinnoh, a first-time visitor would still have to travel all the way to Mount Coronet in person.
That would probably take at least several hours.
He might as well use the time to collect today’s Berries.
Decision made, Felix stood and headed toward the backyard.
…
At Cynthia’s villa near Undella Bay, a flash of light filled the room.
Cynthia and Garchomp reappeared inside.
She had already grown considerably more accustomed to the sudden teleportation.
After only a moment’s pause, she began thinking about the promise she had just made Felix.
At the time, she had agreed without giving it much thought.
Now she realized there was a problem.
Who exactly should she invite?
Everything about the internet café was complicated enough that explaining it would be troublesome.
And first-time visitors still had to travel physically into the depths of Mount Coronet.
That was a long and inconvenient journey.
Unless Cynthia gave someone a very compelling reason, there was no guarantee they would be willing to make the trip.
Most importantly, they needed a reason to actually use the computers.
The rewards granted after each session were certainly extraordinary, but Cynthia doubted that alone would be enough to persuade most of the people she knew.
She herself had only become invested because the game’s opening cinematic contained the mysterious figure she had spent ten years searching for.
So who among her acquaintances might have a similarly compelling reason to play?
Caitlin?
Cynthia considered it briefly.
No.
Caitlin’s personality could be…
difficult.
She would probably become curious enough to visit after hearing about the café, but Cynthia was not entirely convinced inflicting Caitlin on Felix would qualify as helping him.
What about Lucian?
That seemed unlikely too.
Lucian’s obsession with books was on roughly the same level as Steven’s obsession with stones.
Whenever the League did not have an assignment for him, he could easily spend twelve hours a day inside a library.
Even his Pokémon had largely learned to handle their own routine training.
If Cynthia told him there was an unusual internet café hidden on Mount Coronet, he would probably respond politely, promise to visit when he had time…
And then continue reading for another week.
…
Cynthia was considering another possibility when her phone chimed, interrupting her thoughts.
Someone had sent her a message.
She glanced at the screen.
[Contact: Lance — League Chief Inspector]
Cynthia instinctively reached for the phone.
Then she stopped.
Wait.
If she remembered correctly, Lance had been having trouble lately with the League’s ongoing efforts to suppress Team Rocket.
Cynthia’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Well.
Hadn’t the perfect candidate just volunteered himself?