When Felix returned to the backyard, he first used a few of the Berries he had collected to feed the Murkrow perched in the dead tree.
Only after making sure they were happily eating did he head back inside the internet café.
He tidied up the counter, then brought over the Berries he had left and started experimenting with the new drink dispenser.
First up was an Oran Berry.
Oran Berries were among the most common Berries in the Pokémon world.
They had a mild sweet-and-sour flavor and were reasonably nutritious, though there was nothing especially remarkable about them.
Felix picked one up and examined it for a couple of seconds before opening the dispenser’s ingredient slot and dropping it inside.
Then he pressed the button.
A low hum came from within the machine as some kind of grinding mechanism started operating behind the compartments.
A few seconds later, the sound stopped.
Clunk.
A can dropped into the collection tray behind the glass panel.
At the same time, a notification appeared on the machine’s display.
[Production Successful: Oran Berry Juice (C+)]
[Description: A simple but tasty fruit juice.
Drinking it greatly increases satiety.]
Felix took out the can and opened it.
A fresh, fruity aroma immediately drifted out.
The drink inside was pale orange and pleasantly cold.
He took a tentative sip and paused in surprise as a smooth blend of sweetness and acidity spread across his tongue, accompanied by a rich fruity fragrance.
More importantly, as the juice went down, a warm feeling of fullness gradually spread through his stomach.
His whole body felt considerably more comfortable.
Felix took another sip and nodded in satisfaction.
For the past few days, he had not been able to find much proper food on the mountain, so he had mostly been filling his stomach with raw Berries.
Technically, he was still consuming Berries now, but this tasted infinitely better.
‘Wonder when I’ll unlock an actual food facility.
I can’t seriously live on Berries forever, can I?’
With that thought, Felix finished the rest of the Oran Berry Juice and turned back toward the dispenser to test a different combination.
For his second drink, he used two Rawst Berries and one Oran Berry.
The machine hummed to life once more, and another can soon dropped into the tray.
[Production Successful: Rawst Berry Special Soda (C+)]
[Description: A delicious carbonated drink packed with energy.
When consumed by either a human or Pokémon, it restores half of their maximum stamina and refreshes their mental state to its optimal condition.
This effect can only activate once every 24 hours.]
Felix opened the can and took a sip.
It was refreshingly cold, noticeably sweeter than the pure Oran Berry Juice, with the stronger fragrance of Rawst Berries giving it a richer flavor.
It was carbonated too, producing the same pleasant fizz as cola.
The effect was even more impressive.
Almost immediately, Felix felt his mind clear.
Whatever lingering fatigue he had accumulated during the day seemed to disappear altogether.
So different recipes produced different drinks, and each drink came with its own unique effect.
There also seemed to be a grading system.
Felix found himself wondering what kind of effects the dispenser could produce if he fed it rarer, higher-quality Berries.
His gaze naturally fell on the two varieties he had failed to recognize in the forest.
‘One production slot left today.
Might as well try those.’
He dropped the unfamiliar Berries into the machine.
This time, the production process took noticeably longer than the first two.
Eventually, another can fell into the tray, and a new notification appeared.
[Production Successful: Scalefruit Hot Drink (B+)]
[Description: A uniquely spicy beverage.
Human consumers gain increased resistance to high temperatures.
Pokémon consumers receive a slight overall increase in strength, while the power of Fire- and Dragon-type moves is greatly increased.
All effects last for 24 hours.]
Felix raised an eyebrow.
Heat resistance for humans, a direct increase in a Pokémon’s strength, and a major boost to Fire- and Dragon-type moves?
So higher-grade drinks really did have much stronger effects.
Judging by the result, the quality of the Berries probably played a role in determining the drink’s grade as well.
Those two varieties he could not identify were likely much rarer than ordinary Oran or Rawst Berries.
Felix placed the final can on the counter and checked the dispenser’s display.
[Today’s Production: 3/3]
That was it for the day.
Once everything was cleaned up, Felix walked over to the window and looked outside.
In the short time he had spent experimenting with the dispenser, night had completely fallen.
The forest echoed with the calls of Bug-type Pokémon, punctuated every so often by distant cries from other Pokémon deeper in the mountains.
Cynthia’s arrival had clearly been a complete accident.
There was almost no chance another customer would show up tonight.
In that case, he might as well close up and get some rest.
Felix drew the curtains, locked the café door, and returned behind the counter.
The system interface immediately appeared.
Several lines of data refreshed one after another before settling into place.
[Daily Business Summary]
[Emotion Points Obtained: Red ×1, Green ×1, Blue ×3]
[Construction Points Obtained: ×1]
Felix stared at the numbers.
Emotion Points apparently came from the various emotions customers experienced while playing.
But judging by this screen, those points were divided into different categories?
And more importantly, how exactly was he supposed to spend Emotion Points or Construction Points?
Felix scratched his head.
For something that called itself a management system, it had done a terrible job of explaining its own mechanics.
While he was thinking, another notification appeared beneath the summary.
[Ding!
Customer “Cynthia” obtained the special ability “Archaeological Expert (C)” during her session settlement.]
[The ability has been copied and upgraded!]
[Congratulations!
You have obtained: Master Archaeologist (A)]
[Master Archaeologist: You can read and comprehend any form of ancient writing, including but not limited to lost, sealed, or cursed languages.
Comprehension speed is greatly increased, and you can perceive fragments of ancient imagery preserved within written records.]
The moment the notification appeared, Felix felt something settle into his mind.
It was difficult to describe.
There was no sudden flood of memories or information, yet he somehow knew that if an ancient inscription were placed in front of him now, understanding it would come naturally.
Felix reread the description and raised an eyebrow.
So he had received an upgraded version of an ability Cynthia had earned?
Which meant Cynthia herself had gained an ability that let her read any ancient language after finishing her session.
He looked over the original Archaeological Expert description again.
Being able to read and understand any ancient writing did not have much direct value for someone running an internet café.
For Cynthia, though, it was practically perfect.
She was an archaeologist with a particular fascination for mythology, ruins, and ancient legends.
An ability like that might as well have been designed specifically for her.
‘Yeah…
she’s probably going to be pretty happy when she realizes what it does.’
Felix closed the interface and switched off the café lights.
Darkness settled over the room, leaving only the faint blue glow of the Berry Drink Dispenser beside the counter.
He went upstairs, returned to his room, and lay down on the bed.
Nothing particularly exhausting had happened that day, and after drinking the Rawst Berry Special Soda, he did not feel tired in the slightest.
Unfortunately, his body clock disagreed.
‘Whatever.
Time to sleep.’
The chirping of Bug-type Pokémon outside gradually faded from his awareness as Felix closed his eyes and soon drifted off.
…
At the same time, at Cynthia’s villa near Undella Bay.
Cynthia stood on the open balcony of the second floor, gazing toward the distant ocean.
The sea breeze brushed across her face as her thoughts returned once again to the internet café she had discovered earlier that day.
‘That place…’
Bzzzt—
The vibration of her phone interrupted her thoughts.
Cynthia pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the caller ID.
[Archaeological Expedition Leader — Natsu Matsumoto]
She answered, and the voice of a middle-aged man came through almost immediately, carrying a note of concern.
“Cynthia, I heard you went back to Mount Coronet today?”
“Yes, Uncle Matsumoto.”
“Back to that ruin again?” He sounded helpless more than surprised.
“You’ve been searching for eight years without finding a single real lead.
Don’t you think it might be time to—”
“Ten years,” Cynthia corrected him.
“Not eight.”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
“…Right.
Ten years.”
The man sighed.
“You’ve been at this long enough that I’m not going to start telling you to give up like everyone else.
I just want you to take care of yourself.”
He paused before continuing.
“Oh, and I heard you submitted an application to the League recently for deep exploration access in the Mount Coronet area.
It’s been approved.
You can enter the restricted zones whenever you need to.”
“If there’s anything else I can help you with, just ask.”
“Thank you, Uncle Matsumoto.
Actually…
I may have found a new lead.
I’m still trying to verify it.”
“What?!
That’s fantastic!”
The man on the other end sounded far more excited than Cynthia herself.
“I really hope this finally leads somewhere.
Anyway, I’ve got to go—we’re about to enter another ruin ourselves.
I’m in Kanto right now.
If you discover anything new, make sure you tell me!”
The call ended shortly afterward.
Cynthia put away her phone and took out the ancient stone tablet.
Under the moonlight, the weathered lines carved across its surface formed a faint, indistinct silhouette.
Her fingertips rested against that figure.
Everything she had seen on Mount Coronet that day returned to her mind.
After leaving the internet café, she had asked Garchomp to fly her directly to the entrance of the ruins on Mount Coronet.
She had spent several hours searching through the collapsed network of caves, combing through the same ancient passages she had investigated countless times before.
As always, she had found nothing.
Yet this trip had still given her something far more important.
The fleeting silhouette from the game’s opening trailer kept replaying in her thoughts.
And with it came memories from ten years ago.
…
She had only been a child then, entering the ancient ruins deep within Mount Coronet for the first time with her grandmother.
Cynthia remembered stopping because a mural on one of the stone walls had caught her attention.
By the time she looked around again, her grandmother was gone.
Panic set in.
She tried to retrace her steps, only to take a wrong turn and wander farther into the ruins instead.
Then came a deafening crash.
The entire ruin began shaking violently.
The rock beneath Cynthia’s feet fractured, and she plunged into a deeper cavern.
The passage behind her collapsed almost immediately, tons of rubble sealing off every path while more debris continued raining down around her.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Fear, confusion, and despair overwhelmed her.
Broken stone pinned her body down.
She could barely move or breathe, and there was nothing she could do except watch helplessly as more rubble threatened to bury her completely.
Then, at the moment she had finally given in to despair…
A light appeared in the depths of the cavern.
More precisely, a pair of crimson eyes opened in the darkness.
A huge, distorted figure emerged before her.
Its body was surrounded by cold, unnatural light, and the space around it seemed to warp merely from its presence.
The pressure it gave off was overwhelming.
Yet Cynthia sensed no hostility in those crimson eyes.
As the creature appeared, the stones crushing her body slowly lifted into the air.
Then it turned and began moving in one direction.
After traveling a short distance, it stopped and looked back at Cynthia.
Even now, she had never forgotten that gaze.
At seven years old, she had been too young to understand what it meant, but the feeling remained perfectly clear in her memory.
Powerful.
Sacred.
Beyond anything she could comprehend.
And somehow…
Inviting.
Cynthia had struggled back to her feet and followed it.
What happened afterward was gone from her memory.
When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in her grandmother’s arms while the older woman sobbed uncontrollably and held her so tightly that she refused to let go.
…
From that day onward, the mysterious figure had remained etched into Cynthia’s memory.
Years later, she had asked her grandmother what exactly happened that day.
The only answer she received was that Cynthia had somehow appeared unconscious near the entrance to the cavern.
Nothing else unusual had happened.
None of the other members of the expedition had seen any mysterious creature either.
As Cynthia grew older, she began studying every ancient text and mythological record she could find, hoping to discover some reference to the being that had saved her.
After becoming Champion, she gained access to the League’s resources and used them to investigate ancient ruins throughout Sinnoh.
Ten years passed.
She found nothing.
The only tangible clue appeared eight years ago, when she returned to the Mount Coronet ruins and discovered the stone tablet buried deep within a collapsed passage.
Carved into its surface was a vague figure identical to the one in her memories.
And today…
She had seen it again.
Inside a video game at an internet café.
On the way home, Cynthia had wondered whether the silhouette in the trailer matching the carving on her tablet might simply have been an extraordinary coincidence.
After all, it had only appeared for a few seconds during an opening cinematic.
But even if that possibility existed, she could not dismiss it.
In ten years of searching, the stone tablet had been the only clue she had ever found.
Hope itself had been rare enough.
So this time, even if the possibility was incredibly small, she could not afford to ignore it.
Cynthia slowly shook her head, put the stone tablet away, and turned toward the villa, intending to get some rest.
Then she stopped.
On a nearby table, surrounded by several other ancient artifacts, lay an old parchment scroll.
It had been discovered in a different ruin and was covered in an archaic form of Sinnoh script.
The scroll had been sitting there for months.
Attempts to decipher it had made virtually no progress, so Cynthia had eventually stopped paying much attention to it.
But now—
Her eyes widened.
The marks covering the parchment should have looked like twisted, meaningless ancient symbols.
Instead, as Cynthia stared at them, they seemed perfectly clear.
[At the dawn of creation, the god was born within the void of the cosmos and scattered the fruits of power throughout the world…]
Cynthia remained frozen for three full seconds.
Then she rushed to the table, snatched up the parchment, and held it beneath the lamp.
Line after line of ancient Sinnoh script entered her vision, and every symbol transformed effortlessly into meaning within her mind.
[The fruits of power spread throughout the world, and creatures born of dreams arose upon the earth.]
[Sun and moon, light and darkness—all began on that day…]
Cynthia slowly lowered the parchment with trembling hands.
Then she hurriedly reached for several other objects on the table: fragments of stone tablets carved in completely different ancient scripts, photographs of murals from old ruins, and a damaged yellowing book whose language had resisted years of study.
She could read all of them.
Every single one!
Ancient languages that had remained incomprehensible to her for ten years now felt as natural as reading her native tongue.
“…”
Cynthia stood there in silence for a long time before slowly raising her head.
That ability…
It had not been something that only worked inside the game.
It worked in reality.
Which meant…
A light appeared in Cynthia’s eyes unlike anything that had been there before.
“Garchomp!”
From the corner of the living room, Garchomp raised its head in confusion, clearly having no idea what had happened.
“Garch?”
Cynthia turned toward the distant silhouette of Mount Coronet.
“Tomorrow morning’s training is canceled.”
She tightened her grip on the parchment.
“We’re going back to Mount Coronet.”