Unova, Castelia City—a metropolis towering with skyscrapers, forming a shadowy forest of steel and concrete.

Countless people bustled through Castelia City. Among them were some who only cared about their own lives, completely uninterested in the world outside. These people were often called corporate slaves.

“So busy, so busy! After breakfast, I have to think about what to eat for lunch, and after lunch, I have to worry about dinner. Every day’s the same—why is life so busy?”

Such figures were everywhere—businesspeople in black suits, carrying briefcases, tying ties, hurrying through the streets and alleys. The crowd flowed endlessly.

In an unnoticed corner, Hikaru and Aegislash appeared, while Mewtwo’s voice gradually faded.

This was the back-alley street.

The third street leading west from the harbor district, lined with many trash bins. It was a narrow, dim alley sandwiched between skyscrapers, home to some shady characters and with little foot traffic—an area where security was notoriously poor.

What this alley was most famous for… was the black-clothed Shiny Guy who popped up by the trash bins, and the Melody Café, where one could learn the Relic Song.

Looking up, Hikaru could see the old-fashioned café—its red doorframe and potted plants at the entrance stood out in the gloomy alley.

But the Shiny Guy searching for his glasses by the trash bins hadn’t appeared yet—probably because it wasn’t yet the time for Touya and Touko’s journey, so he hadn’t lost his glasses here.

“Well, the Relic Song, I already know how to play that.”

Hikaru would be staying in Unova for a while, at least until mid-September, so he needed a place to settle down. According to memory, Professor Fennel, who developed the Dream World system, should be in Striaton City. And with Castelia City’s expensive rent, it wasn’t an ideal temporary base.

He sent a message to Alder about his arrival in Unova but didn’t get an immediate reply. Considering Alder’s struggle with electronic devices, Hikaru decided to wait patiently.

Bringing Aegislash into the café for a break, this unique Royal Sword Pokémon drew some curious glances. After receiving two bottles of fruit milk from the café staff, Hikaru found a quiet corner to sit down.

There were posters about Team Plasma’s speeches inside the café. For now, the group appeared to be a proper religious and animal welfare organization.

In the private chat with Alder, a few merchant group chats had exploded with 99+ messages. The topics were mainly discussing the strange occurrences in the Johto region—psychics were particularly sensitive to such events—and also asking if Hikaru could still make custom items.

“Sorry, I’ve been out for some matters. I can’t make large items like statues for now, but small items are still fine.”

“Eh? The shopkeeper left Shinto?”

“Yes, I’m currently in Unova.”

The plushie group and the paranormal group didn’t expect Hikaru to temporarily close shop. Reiha was especially blunt:

“What about the batch of talismans I needed, shopkeeper? There aren’t any fun graves in Unova! The only good thing is the fast shipping…”

Fun graves?

You think I’m here for grave robbing like you?

Speechless.

Reiha added:

“I mean, you can check out some of the spooky places in Unova. Maybe you’ll get inspired for new talismans. Oh, how about the Celestial Tower? There’s a bell there that can purify souls—give it a try!”

That was indeed a good idea. The bell had a unique legend: after completing the Heart Hollow storyline, the Lake Guardian Mesprit would appear by the bell at the tower’s summit.

That bell definitely had some significance.

Thinking about it, Unova was a rather ancient region, full of unique tools and rare materials. It might be worth taking some time during this trip to explore a bit.

Other important messages in the chat included news that Caitlin, having mastered her psychic powers quickly, had already started her Elite Four challenge—and succeeded!

However, this news wasn’t from Caitlin herself but shared by Soul Novelist, who explained that Caitlin was resting after pushing herself too hard and had gone to the Unova League.

As for Soul Novelist, she revealed herself as Shauntal, the Unova Ghost-type Elite Four member.

“So, can you reach Alder?”

“Eh? Alder, the Champion? He rarely stays at the League and isn’t great with electronics. If you’ve contacted him before, he’s probably at Lacunosa Town or somewhere, having someone else help him reply.”

“Besides, Alder often goes to places with bad signal… Unova may be high-tech, but a lot of areas are still kept natural—like Opelucid City, White Forest, and Village Bridge. There are many undeveloped, old places in Unova.”

“Hmm, I’ll ask Marshal to help. He’s Alder’s apprentice, so he should be able to contact him. Shopkeeper, are you staying in Castelia City?”

“No, I’m heading to Striaton City.” Hikaru’s goal was clear: to find the Dream World researcher there.

Meanwhile, in Kanto, Sabrina from the Saffron Gym had also arrived in Unova. Though Mizu’s gym assessment at her place had been a rough one, her tactical adaptability had earned Sabrina’s recognition.

Currently, Saffron Gym was under Mizu’s temporary management—an odd arrangement, considering a Ghost-type trainer running a Psychic-type Gym.

Mizu declared she’d catch an Abra and evolve it into an Alakazam to make Saffron Gym great again.

That toy-loving customer, suspected to be Lorelei from the Kanto Elite Four, was also complaining that the recent stock was mostly charms and battle items—she wanted to buy new plushies.

“New plushies… How about a Legendary Series?”

The Calyrex plush had been a hit, sparking Hikaru’s idea to make plushies of other Legendaries. Since he was in Unova, why not try making plushies of Reshiram, Zekrom, and the Swords of Justice?

Thundurus, Tornadus, Victini, Meloetta plushies could also be fun to make. After all, Unova, as a bustling region, had a thriving market for rare and valuable Pokémon materials and related products.

Crafting local Legendary Pokémon plushies could count as limited-edition regional exclusives. With Hikaru’s current crafting speed, he could produce many items in a single day—as long as there were enough materials.

“Oh, right—about the items… A lot of people want to buy battle items from you. They suggested creating a new group chat.”

The competitive battlers… Makes sense. Battle items were one of Hikaru’s main specialties.

There were quite a few battle-focused trainers in Kanto and Johto. Hikaru remembered Misty mentioning Leaf before, but he had been too busy at the time. Now…

[New Group Chat Created!]

Following Ice Doll’s request, a new group chat for selling new battle items was created. After all, the shop interface was currently in a semi-hiatus, so large-scale manufacturing wasn’t possible. But selling limited-time, exclusive items was part of the “boutique shop” business model.

Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Hmm… That toy-loving customer, likely Lorelei, took the initiative to become the group admin. Then…

Hikaru noticed a new member request: [Dragon Envoy].

Looks like the plushie buyer really was Lorelei. Makes sense—she had an unusual obsession with plushies, and her presence in the psychic chat group had always been odd. So she and Lance were connected, huh?

Let’s see… The people in this group… Hmm, something’s off.

Some members even used their real names, like… [Green].

Clearly, these were all dedicated battlers, passionate about battling and believing that battling connected them with everyone in the world. Even Arceus agreed with that logic.

Of course, without a proper understanding of the relationship between trainers and Pokémon, some people would spiral into becoming “battle maniacs.” Such people weren’t rare in the Pokémon world.

“I’ll use these items to reclaim the Indigo Plateau Championship! Or… that was the plan, but the frustrating truth is—”

“You lost again.”

Green had barely joined the chat when the competitive pros started teasing him. A girl chimed in: “Green, you’ve got another new scar on your face!”

Green didn’t respond, simply telling the shopkeeper, “I’ll take two Focus Sashes and a Choice Scarf.”

“You recently battled Leaf, right? And got wrecked, huh! Green, when are you going to climb Mt. Silver?”

“When I’ve got all the right items for my team, I’ll conquer Mt. Silver! That’s why I joined this chat!” Green snapped at the speaker. And the only one who dared tease Green like that was Blue, the liveliest of the Kanto Four.

Hikaru gave a silent thumbs-up.

Green, Leaf, Blue, Lance, Lorelei, and several elite trainers in training under the Elite Four and Gym Leaders… When Green became a Gym Leader, many trainers came to challenge him, including names like Shūei, Gidoku, Tenjin… All in all, unfamiliar names—likely in-game roadblock trainers.

Misty’s name also appeared in the chat. And there was another customer who had previously purchased a Charcoal: a user named Riddle Master, probably connected to Cinnabar Island.

Another user, Venom Rules All, joined the chat but hadn’t said anything yet. Probably a Poison-type trainer from Kanto.

Huh, this is practically a Kanto reunion.

Did Johto get excluded again?

Leaf chimed in:

“By the way, have you guys been using the battle system software developed by Unova’s Battle Company? For some reason, some of the items the shopkeeper made have appeared in their battle system! These items are getting really popular in Unova!”

“Of course, only a few, but they’ve already changed the meta. They said they’ll be reaching out to the item creators soon! Shopkeeper, is that why you came to Unova?”

Hikaru frowned slightly.

His items were in the Battle Company’s software?

He hadn’t worked with them directly—he’d only registered a promo account in their system.

Plus, he barely had any clients in Unova. The only one was Mr. Bourgeois, an antique collector, who didn’t even battle. By all accounts, he should’ve been a nobody here.

“No, I came here for other reasons. By the way, you’re Leaf, right? Nice to meet you.”

Hikaru and Leaf quickly hit it off. After all, she was the protagonist of FireRed/LeafGreen, and unlike Red’s “…”, Leaf wasn’t mute—she was a cheerful, optimistic girl.

It’s just… her strength was a bit too much. She often left Green kneeling on the ground.

“Unova is super into battling. They even have a Battle Subway just for battles! I heard they’re also building a new battle-focused academy on top of an undersea resource facility! It’s so exciting—I’ll definitely visit Unova someday!”

The group chat grew livelier, filled with elite trainers, and soon… Cynthia joined!

The Seeker of Myths had entered the chat!

She didn’t speak immediately, just sent a smiley face and tagged Hikaru.

“Shopkeeper, I have an important matter…” Lance suddenly messaged Hikaru. “I heard from the Sinnoh Champion that you created an item specifically for Dragon-type Pokémon to resist Ice-type moves, is that true?”

Lance and Cynthia had traveled the world, forming a connection. Cynthia had visited the Johto Dragon Shrine to train her Garchomp, one of the Dragon tamers’ sacred places. As fellow Champions, battling crime was part of their duty. While many Champions slacked off, Lance at least worked diligently.

“I see. That kind of item does exist. Since I’m in Unova, I’ll send it to you through Castelia City’s shipping service.”

“That’s great. How much will it cost—”

Lorelei: “Huh?! What do you mean?! A Dragon-type Pokémon item that completely negates Ice-type moves?! That’s impossible! Lance, what are you trying to pull?!”

Lance: “Relax, you’re not an active Elite Four member anymore. You’re retired—don’t get so worked up! Powerful items should be in the hands of the right trainers. Making Dragon Pokémon immune to cold… that’s my dream!”

“Dragons are sacred creatures of legend. They deserve such powerful items!”

The group chat was ablaze with debate.

Meanwhile, outside the café, there was a commotion.

“Team Plasma’s giving another speech,” sighed a guitarist playing in the café. “Everywhere you go, they’re attracting crowds, and people are gradually joining them.”

“Separating humans from their Pokémon, without asking how the Pokémon feel… It’s all self-righteous sentiment. Their sweet melodies may make people happy, and their sad tunes may bring sorrow, but what I hear in Team Plasma’s speeches… are the Pokémon’s cries.”

[Festival Quest: Listen to Team Plasma’s speech.]

[Reward: Griseous Orb.]

[Note: Something is trying to send you a message…]

“Huh?”

Hikaru frowned slightly, puzzled.

Was an item actively sending him a “quest”?

“Gyah?” Aegislash seemed very interested in the guitarist’s words. That Team Plasma was the scammy liberation movement organization, right?

Hikaru: “Oh? You want to see them make a fool of themselves in public? I can’t take on an entire team alone, but if you’re interested in listening, then let’s go. Besides, it seems like something is trying to send us a message here.”

“The Griseous Orb… What is this thing—”

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep