The city lights spilled through the window, casting a warm yellow glow across the living room floor.
Mishiro finished dressing and lightly poked the cyan planarian on the table with his finger.
The little guy continued staring at him blankly.
Aside from the occasional slow crawl proving it was alive, it gave no other reaction.
“Feels pretty nice—like squishing jelly, and completely non-sticky.”
No matter how playfully Mishiro poked it, the little creature remained largely unresponsive, as if lacking the mind of a normal Pokémon and relying purely on lingering survival instincts.
Perhaps people of this world wouldn’t recognize it, but Mishiro knew all too well—this adorable little creature before him was none other than Zygarde, the legendary Pokémon tasked with maintaining the balance of the world’s ecosystem…
or rather, one of its countless cells.
These cells were scattered across the globe, monitoring ecological harmony and carrying out their duty to protect the world.
It was precisely because of this that ordinary human eyes could not perceive their presence.
Which raised the question Mishiro was most curious about: why could he see and even touch an existence that was supposed to be invisible?
“Wait, this doesn’t look like a normal cell!”
Observing it closely under the light, Mishiro’s pupils contracted.
Searching his memory, he finally noticed the anomaly.
Ordinary Zygarde Cells were flat, resembling a planarian lying on the ground, with a deep green hexagonal crystal embedded in the center of their body.
But this little guy was rounder and three-dimensional, its body cyan rather than green, and the crystal within was a unique pale yellow.
This wasn’t a cell—it was a Zygarde Core!
And a Shiny Core at that!
Unlike the vast number of cells, Cores were extremely rare.
They possessed self-awareness, served as the brains of Zygarde, were capable of independent action, and could be seen by the naked eye.
Cells, on the other hand, lacked conscious thought and could only obey the Core’s commands.
Beside his excitement, Mishiro felt a tinge of unease.
If this truly was a Zygarde Core, why couldn’t it perform even basic communication?
After teasing it for a long while without getting any answers, Mishiro had a sudden thought and asked in his mind, *System, can a Zygarde Core create a Legend File?
This is a genuine Legendary Pokémon.*
[No legends exist regarding a Shiny Zygarde Core.
File cannot be created.]
*What do you mean no legends exist?
Is your software out of date?
Haven’t you played the latest Pokémon Legends: Z-A?*
[Then let me ask you: was that one Shiny?]
“…”
Mishiro was struck mute.
He wanted to argue, but couldn’t find a single valid point.
Still, he found it hard to accept that a meme story like “The Garchomp Hater” could be recognized as a legend, while an actual Shiny Zygarde Core was rejected by the system.
“Poor little guy…”
He sighed softly, looking at the silly Zygarde Core on the table, and shook his head slightly.
“Oh well.
Even though I don’t know how you ended up in my house, at least you’ve brought a bit of life to this place.”
The loneliness of living alone for the past few months eased slightly with the little creature’s arrival.
*Gurgle~*
His stomach betrayed him with a loud growl.
Mishiro gave an awkward laugh and stood up.
“Want something to eat?
You’re a guest, after all…”
“Wait, I remember Cores don’t need to eat, right?
But it feels wrong not offering anything.
Hold on a moment—now that I’ve recovered my memories, my cooking skills are actually pretty great.”
Watching Mishiro walk into the kitchen with a smile, the Zygarde Core tilted its head, its large eyes flashing with a flicker of curiosity.
A short while later, Mishiro returned to the living room carrying a serving tray.
A rich aroma of coffee blended with milk filled the air.
Having lived in Lumiose City for so many years, coffee had long become an indispensable part of his daily life.
“Meal’s ready!
Though I made it according to my own taste, I added some Berries that Pokémon like.
It definitely tastes better than roadside stalls.”
He cut up a crepe filled with chopped Pecha Berries and Nanab Berries, set a few pieces on a small saucer, and slid it toward the creature.
The Zygarde Core tilted its head, its left eye staring blankly at the chopped crepe on the saucer, its expression full of curiosity toward this new thing.
It leaned its head close to the saucer, watched Mishiro eat his crepe, and then took a “bite”—it had no mouth, absorbing nutrients instead through direct physical contact with food, breaking it down upon touch.
“So that’s how you eat?”
Mishiro watched with intense curiosity.
This way of eating was entirely different from other mouthless Pokémon; he could probably write an academic paper on it.
Seeing how much the little guy seemed to enjoy the crepe, Mishiro rubbed his chin in thought.
“What should I call you from now on?
‘Zygarde Core’ is too long, and calling you ‘Zygarde’ directly is way too flashy.”
The Zygarde Core raised its head, seemingly understanding that he was struggling to name it.
“Since you’re Z…
ZZZ?
How about Zez?
Or Zeta?
Hmm, you don’t like those either?”
Mishiro quietly observed its reactions.
Although he couldn’t read facial expressions on the little creature, he could somehow tell it wasn’t satisfied with those names.
Of course, it could just be his imagination.
“Alright, those names are pretty weird.
How about Z-Gundam…
No, I remember now!
How about Squishy?
What do you think?”
He suddenly recalled the Pokémon anime from his previous life, where a Zygarde Core was named “Squishy.” Though he wasn’t sure if this world was identical to the anime or whether Ash existed here, the moment the name was uttered, a spark lit up in the Zygarde Core’s big eyes.
Simultaneously, a fragmented, childish cry rang in Mishiro’s mind, sounding like an infant learning to speak:
“Zy…
Zy-u~”
“Huh?!”
Mishiro froze, almost thinking that terrible system was acting up again.
But the voice unmistakably came from the tiny cyan creature before him—and it was Telepathy, a skill usually possessed only by Pokémon with immense psychic power.
Unlike mature Telepathy, however, this faltering cry was like a newborn instinctively babbling “Mommy” and “Daddy,” still utterly unpracticed.
*Could Squishy have just been born?*
The thought crossed Mishiro’s mind, but before he could dwell on it, Squishy had already finished off all the crepes on the saucer.
Despite being no larger than a palm, its eating speed was astonishing.
Where all that digested food went was a mystery.
And it didn’t stop there.
It began crawling curiously toward the coffee cup, seemingly drawn by the aroma.
But after lingering at the rim for a moment, it tilted its head and wrinkled its brow—the little guy clearly couldn’t accept the distinct, bitter richness.
“Don’t like coffee?”
Mishiro stroked his chin, forming a guess.
He got up and walked toward the kitchen, completely unaware that his own portion of crepe on the table had already been targeted by a certain big-eyed cutie.
When he returned with a bottle of gently warmed Moomoo Milk, nothing remained on the table except the rejected coffee and Squishy, who was propping itself up on its tiny tail and gazing at him with eager eyes.
“Hey, I only ate two bites!”
“Zy…
Zy-u~”
“Don’t play cute with me.
There’s no food left in the house.”
Mishiro sat at the table, feigning annoyance as he filled a cup with Moomoo Milk.
What he said was no lie, though—before recovering his memories, he had been little more than a bookworm who couldn’t cook at all, so there really weren’t many ingredients left at home.
Watching Squishy dive straight into the cup to drink the milk, Mishiro took a slow sip of coffee.
The bitter sweetness lingered on his palate, clearing his head and allowing him to think seriously about his plans for the future.
Now that he had decided to take over his parents’ Gym, he would naturally give it his all.
But with the Gym currently closed and no challengers arriving, he certainly wouldn’t pass the review in three months.
He had to find a way to break the deadlock.
Then there was that unreliable system mission—giving nightmare difficulty right in the beginner tutorial was practically impossible.
Where was he supposed to find a Garchomp to complete the task?
“Zy…
Zy-u~”
Squishy’s squeak pulled Mishiro’s thoughts back to reality.
Seeing it lying in the now completely empty cup with a look that clearly said “I want more,” Mishiro’s lips twitched.
“There’s really no food left at home.
Besides, it’s already night.”
Squishy said nothing, merely staring at him in silence.
Mishiro scratched his head, suddenly feeling that instead of adopting a companion, he had brought home a little master to cater to.
Back in the bathroom, it had looked so helpless, yet after a little food, it had completely latched onto him.
Still, his own dinner was basically gone, so he really did need to go out and buy groceries.
Finishing his coffee in one gulp, Mishiro stood up.
“I’m heading out to buy some things.
You stay home and wait for me, okay?”
“Zy…
Zy-u~”
Squishy bounced up like a piece of gummy candy, using its tail to spring high into the air and landing precisely inside Mishiro’s jacket chest pocket, leaving only its round little head peeking out.
It seemed to favor this spot above all others.
“Alright, we’ll go together.”
Mishiro didn’t refuse.
Since the little guy was so attached to him, what else was there to say?
After tidying up slightly, he carried Squishy in his pocket and pushed open the Gym’s side door.
Night had fallen, and the evening breeze carried the cool chill of autumn.
Neon lights scattered like stars across the cityscape, blending with the architecture to outline towering skyscrapers and paint the breathtaking scenery unique to this City of Light.
In his pocket, Squishy seemed to sense something, its dorky eyes following one particular glow in the distance.
Feeling a resonant surge in his chest, Mishiro turned his gaze in the same direction—
Toward the central plaza, where the landmark of Lumiose City stood tall against the skyline, like an elegant iron giant draped in golden light beneath the night sky.
Prism Tower!
It was not only the site of the official Kalos League Lumiose Gym, but also an ancient structure with two thousand years of history.
Yet even that was not its full story.
With his memories restored, Mishiro knew better than anyone that deep inside that tower lay a super energy device capable of instantly destroying the entire Kalos region and shattering the world’s ecological balance—Ange!