The black figure was enormous, easily over two meters tall.
Thick black mist shrouded its entire body, concealing its true form while radiating an oppressive presence that made the surrounding air feel heavy.
A pair of crimson eyes stared fixedly at Felix, as though the creature might tear him apart at any moment.
Faced with that overwhelming pressure, Felix’s mind briefly went blank.
His heart began pounding faster and faster.
‘Is that a Pokémon?
A Ghost-type?’
‘Why would something like this be wandering around the back of Mount Coronet?’
Countless thoughts flashed through his head, but his first instinct was simple.
Run!
Yet before Felix could turn around, the shadow unexpectedly took a step backward.
Then another.
It steadily widened the distance between them.
Its eyes remained fixed on Felix, but the terrifying pressure surrounding it noticeably weakened.
Felix slowly began to understand.
With the kind of power this creature seemed to possess, if it actually meant him harm, there was nothing stopping it from attacking immediately.
So was it deliberately backing away to show that it meant no harm?
In that case, perhaps he did not need to run just yet.
Felix lowered his voice and cautiously asked, “Were you…
looking for me?”
“…”
A strange, muffled sound came from within the shadow.
Felix frowned.
That was inconvenient.
Communication between humans and Pokémon was already difficult enough, and this thing did not seem capable of speaking in any recognizable way.
How was he supposed to figure out what it wanted?
While Felix was trying to think of another approach, he noticed something strange.
Despite the terrifying aura surrounding it, the shadow was trembling constantly.
Not with fear.
It looked more like it was enduring severe pain.
When Felix looked more closely, he noticed something moving beneath the layers of black mist covering its body.
He took a cautious step closer to get a better look.
The creature immediately recoiled, shaking its body as an urgent sound escaped from the darkness.
“…!”
Felix paused.
“You’re worried about me?”
“…”
The shadow moved again.
Judging from the vague outline of its body, it seemed to be nodding.
“It’s fine.
Just stay still and let me take a look.”
Felix stepped forward again.
As he approached, that crushing pressure washed over him once more.
But this time, he could finally make out what was moving beneath the black fog.
They looked like…
Symbols?
Before Felix could identify them, his vision suddenly went dark.
When he could see again, he was no longer standing in the forest.
He found himself in the middle of a vast desert.
Blazing sunlight poured down from above, scorching his skin.
Felix instinctively looked up.
The sky was covered in an unnatural layer of blackness, almost like night, yet sunlight somehow continued to shine through it.
‘What the hell is this?’
Before he could make sense of the scene, a voice came from nearby.
“Master, why do we have to throw gold coins into the seal?
Can’t we use something else?”
Felix turned.
Two people stood behind him.
The one who had spoken was a young boy holding a Togepi in his arms.
Beside him stood an elderly man in long robes, holding a gold coin between his fingers.
With a flick of his hand, the old man tossed the coin into a cave.
“Gold is one of the best conductive materials for a seal.
It strengthens the formation and allows it to remain stable for much longer, so no, we can’t simply replace it.”
He turned slightly.
“Gardevoir, please.”
Behind him, a Gardevoir raised one hand.
A faint blue glow gathered around its palm before flowing into the cave.
The boy blinked.
“But Master, what if a traveler or some Pokémon passes by, sees the gold coin, and takes it?
Wouldn’t that ruin the seal?”
The old man merely smiled.
“The seal will make them return it.”
The boy frowned.
“Master, could you please speak like a normal person?
I have no idea what that means.”
He adjusted the Togepi in his arms.
The old man sighed.
“You really learned nothing in your sealing lessons.”
“The seal follows whatever medium is carrying it.
If someone removes one of those materials from the sealed area, then that person—or Pokémon—becomes part of the seal themselves.”
“They’ll be forced to bear the pressure that was originally placed upon the medium.”
“Until they return it…”
“Or until the pressure crushes them.”
The old man raised a hand.
Gardevoir nodded.
Brilliant blue light erupted around its body, and enormous amounts of sand rose from the desert floor, sweeping over the cave until the entire entrance disappeared beneath the dunes.
“That should take care of this place.”
The old man turned away.
“Come.
We don’t have much time left.”
…
The instant those words faded, the desert vanished.
Felix found himself standing in front of the black shadow once again.
‘So that was my ability activating?’
By looking at the strange symbols covering this creature, Master Archaeologist had shown him fragments of their past.
If that was the case…
Felix quickly connected what he had just seen.
“Did you take something from somewhere before this happened to you?”
The shadow paused.
A confused sound came from within it.
“…..?”
Felix realized his question had been far too vague.
“Something valuable.
Maybe a gold coin, or something similar?
You found it inside a cave or some weird place, before you ended up like this.”
The instant he mentioned the gold coin, the shadow stiffened.
Its entire body began trembling.
Then, from somewhere beneath the thick black mist, something golden emerged.
A coin.
Its surface was old and badly worn, but Felix immediately recognized it.
It was the exact same gold coin he had seen in the vision.
“That’s it.”
Felix pointed at it.
“Do you remember where you found this?”
“Take it back there and put it where it was.
That should fix whatever’s happening to you.”
The shadow froze.
For a moment, it seemed hesitant.
Then, after a brief pause, it pulled the coin back into the mist, turned around, and vanished instantly.
Felix stared at the place where it had disappeared.
If his instincts were right, that creature really was some kind of Ghost-type Pokémon.
The atmosphere surrounding it was simply too similar.
He just had no idea which species it actually was.
And the vision he had seen…
had that really happened in this world’s ancient past?
His thoughts returned to that impossible black sky hanging over the desert.
And what exactly had been sealed inside that cave?
Felix felt a little disappointed that he had not been able to ask more questions.
Then again, the creature could barely communicate with him at all, so it was not as though an interrogation would have gone very far.
“Whatever.”
Felix stretched.
He was just a guy running an internet café.
Besides, if that Pokémon lived somewhere around the mountain, he would probably run into it again eventually.
And if the sealed ruins it had visited were nearby…
Maybe he would find those too someday.
More importantly, the encounter had reminded him of something he had already been thinking about.
Living this deep in the mountains without a Pokémon companion was probably a terrible idea.
…
After the strange encounter, Felix made his way back to the café without running into any more trouble.
He took out the unfamiliar Berries he had collected and headed straight to the drink dispenser.
Rather than reuse any of yesterday’s recipes, Felix divided the new Berries into three separate combinations and let the machine process them.
Before long, three cans appeared.
One red.
One blue.
One white.
Felix examined the red one first.
A series of information immediately appeared.
[Successfully created: Lantern Berry Mint Water (C+)]
[Description: A refreshing drink made by carefully grinding Lantern Berries, removing their bitterness, and blending them with mint.
Drinking it slightly enhances the visual acuity of humans or Pokémon.]
[Effect Duration: 6 hours]
“Better eyesight…”
Felix rubbed his chin.
That was actually fairly useful in battle.
In real-world Pokémon battles, vision mattered both for Trainers giving commands and Pokémon making split-second judgments.
Being able to see movements more clearly could absolutely make a difference.
The only downside was that six hours felt rather short.
He turned to the blue can.
[Successfully created: Sprite (C-)]
[Description: A carbonated drink created by using the seeds inside Thunder Berries to imitate the bubbles and flavor of a certain beverage.
The taste has been reproduced almost perfectly, but it does not appear to have any special effects.]
Felix stared at the screen.
“…”
Wait.
This machine could just make soda?
He rubbed his forehead.
Well…
At least Sprite tasted good.
That left the white can.
Felix shifted his attention toward it, hoping for something more interesting.
This time, a strange notification sound rang out.
The interface changed.
Even the text turned gold.
[Congratulations!
You created a Special Beverage: Voice of All Things (A)]
Felix raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
Now that looked promising.
If he remembered correctly, he had made this drink using a blue triangular Berry together with a red Berry covered in a hard shell.
Those two varieties had been the rarest ones he found today, and the recipe had used up his entire supply.
Felix immediately opened the detailed description.
[Description: A special reaction between high-quality Sourhorn Fruit and Psychic Shell Berries has produced an unusual effect.
After drinking this beverage, a human can hear the thoughts of all living beings within a five-meter radius and understand the meaning of any language.]
[Effect Duration: 6 hours]
Felix slowly nodded.
Now this was on another level.
Six hours was still not particularly long, but the effect itself was far more powerful than anything the other drinks provided.
Hearing people’s thoughts…
That sounded almost like something a Psychic-type Pokémon might be capable of.
If he had possessed this drink when confronting the black shadow earlier, communicating with it would have been much easier.
Being able to understand any language was equally useful.
Human-Pokémon communication in this world was nowhere near as straightforward as games and anime often made it seem.
Most people could only infer what a Pokémon meant from its tone, gestures, and behavior.
Only after a Trainer and Pokémon had lived together for a long time could mutual understanding become nearly effortless through familiarity and trust.
Felix was extremely satisfied with the drink.
He carefully placed the white can in the refrigerator.
This one he intended to keep for himself.
Just then, however, he heard movement outside the café.
Felix paused.
‘Did Cynthia’s guest already arrive?’
That was fast.
He headed toward the entrance, then stopped.
Because the figure standing outside was not human.
It was…
a Gengar.
A huge white Gengar with a body wreathed in crackling lightning.