[Mission Complete!]

[Reward: Release Orb ×15, C-Device Skins ×5, Unova Stones ×5, Certificate of Linkage ×?, Release Power Registry ×3, Intense Emotion ×1, Instant Crosstalk Power ×1.]

Hikaru returned to the side of the Linkage Tree, now holding two Dream Balls.

As for the spoils obtained by Walking Wake, they were a bit troublesome—so much that even two large bags weren’t enough. In the end, he had no choice but to leave them deep within the forest.

This left Walking Wake a bit frustrated. All those things it had worked so hard to drag from the dream world—still warm!—and now they were just going to sit here?

Entei: “You’re way too greedy… how many Pokémon did you plunder?”

Walking Wake made exaggerated faces inside the Poké Ball!

That’s not true at all! Some of those items were picked up fair and square! Some were gifts from that Zoroark! And the rest were earned through battle!

I just have a lively personality! There’s nothing shady about the source of any of it!

But Phantom Entei knew the truth—this ancient dragon didn’t possess any concept of morality. Even Calyrex had tried teaching it some basic ethical principles in the dream world, but Walking Wake always played dumb.

Phantom Entei just shook his head.

Still, he didn’t say anything more.

After all, everything was born directly from the dream world, disconnected from reality. To the Pokémon in those dreams, it was no different than a nightmare.

This Entei, which had emerged from another black-and-white dream fissure, understood just how irrational the dream world could be.

[C-Device Skin (Empty Slot): A skin for the C-Device. Completing specific world events can record unique energy fluctuations.]

[Unova Stone: A rare stone discovered in the Unova region, used to evolve certain Pokémon. It features a characteristic black-and-white surface.]

『Certificate of Linkage: Badge of a world-traverser.』

『Acquisition Requirement: Cross through worlds using the C-Device.』

『Effect: Increases the starting affinity with beings from other worlds. +50% Affection.』

[Release Power Registry: Consume Release Orbs to freely choose three types of Release Powers to permanently retain or use!]

[Emotion of Linkage: A power granted by the Linkage Forest, allowing one to form emotional connections with any Pokémon, human, or even soul—an advanced psychic ability.]

[Power of Instant Crosstalk: Instantaneous Crosstalk Communication—]

[Use this to receive special events, activities, or competitions, or obtain unique information from certain places. With the aid of the C-Device, this power can be manifested.]

New leaves sprouting from the ancient tree swayed gently in celebration of this successful link.

This power to traverse worlds had finally been unlocked!

The Linkage Tree granted Hikaru the long-awaited celebration quest rewards—and they were indeed generous.

Still, more help would be needed from Hikaru.

The mission’s objective was now clear. Though along the way, further unifying people’s hearts and conducting artistic displays would remain essential steps.

“Uxie (Yellow Sacred Mushroom), Azelf (Blue Sacred Mushroom), and the last one is Mesprit (Red Sacred Mushroom).”

“The Tower of Heaven.”

The Tower of Heaven, symbolizing the soul of justice—once twisted, would likely give birth to a Pokémon like… Shiny Giratina.

And Hikaru had a strange feeling.

These Shiny versions of the three Time-Space deities would likely have very different personalities from their counterparts in this world.

“A Giratina with a soul of justice?”

“Hey… are you watching?”

He looked at the back of his hand, where a crest slowly began to emerge.

Though Giratina’s Reverse World was far from Unova, it could still observe certain things through the mirrors here.

And from deep within his soul… Giratina sent out a distant call.

It was… very interested.

A second self from a parallel universe, with a different color—and possibly a different temperament.

Giratina felt a sudden desire to test itself!

The power of Heaven?

That kind of power wasn’t worth fearing!

It, too, had been empowered by the Creator—if both possessed the Creator’s strength, why should the other be stronger?

If the opportunity came…

But summoning that version would require a specific device—one that could link time and space, connecting past and future…

Ancient memories resurfaced and pieced together—

In Opelucid City, there were two—or rather, three—special NPCs.

Grandpa Buck, Mr. Timm, and a child.

The child wasn’t important. What mattered was Timm and Buck, the father-son duo.

The concept behind the 9th-gen Paldea time machine—its original idea—actually came from this father-son pair in the 5th-gen.

“I remember they each invented their own time-viewing machines, but those machines could only observe the past or future, not actually allow time travel. Very different from the time machines created by the professors in Scarlet and Violet.”

“But they were cheap. No need for special Terastal energy. All you needed was a Pokémon from another world that could generate power. Then again, if you could do that, you wouldn’t need a time machine in the first place.”

Unova’s little backyard workshops were truly impressive.

“Well then… let’s head back.”

“Rawr~ (Thanks a lot!)”

Walking Wake let out a cry from inside its Poké Ball. Though it had never seen the Linkage Tree, it had heard about it from Hikaru and Riolu. Even if it looked kind of ugly, it sure was impressive!

“Rawr…”

To be able to control such a massive forest… and it seemed to be the very center of this land. That meant past civilizations had likely been built around this tree.

“You’re exactly right! People in the past saw this as the center of Unova because they wanted to harness the Release Power.”

The dreams and ideals of humans and Pokémon swirled like a vortex, ultimately becoming the Release Power. It’s possible that the Release Power came first, and the Linkage Tree came after.

Because people’s wills gathered in a special space, a strange plant like the Linkage Tree was born.

Walking Wake now had a general understanding of “civilization.” Basically, it meant where humans gathered. Calyrex always went on about how past civilizations were gone forever and how it missed its glorious days as a king.

But really, being king seemed no different from being the leader of a Pokémon pack!

If a goof like Calyrex could be a king, then clearly there wasn’t any racial discrimination between humans and Pokémon!

Although… Calyrex didn’t seem to have any of its own kind.

“Hmm, true. Calyrex is different from us. It’s probably some kind of special Pokémon that naturally came into being in a place called Galar…”

Phantom Entei mused.

After all, the Three Legendary Beasts might not just be from Ecruteak. There could be other versions created by Ho-Oh elsewhere—even the current him might be one.

The branches of the Linkage Tree swayed gently, and the wind of farewell blew through this mystical space.

The rest was up to you.

By the way, in the Linkage Space, items could be stored infinitely within the Forest’s Depths.

“Huh? Really?”

Hikaru was surprised, but then immediately excited.

That means… this place was like a natural storage vault?

“Ah, but once everyone starts using the Linkage feature, won’t this place turn into a crowded plaza?”

The Linkage Tree said no.

Though the forest could materialize dreams, the Forest’s Depths were unique to each person.

Different people couldn’t enter each other’s Depths, nor could they see Pokémon from others’ dreams. Items stored in one’s own Depths could only be accessed by the owner.

The power of linkage was immense—it wasn’t some simple gimmick.

“Oh! Then it’s perfect!”

Hikaru looked toward the distant grassland, where an ancient stone bridge extended far ahead, ending in a dense fog that obscured everything.

That bridge was the “Wi-Fi Connection Bridge,” a vital link to other people’s worlds. The fog represented the barrier between the player’s own world and others’.

Once that fog cleared, the inner world could connect to the outer one.

Unlike in the games, there was no teleportation device for the return journey. Instead, one had to click the C-Device’s link button again. Wrapped in a gentle wave of linkage energy, and in the blink of an eye, as if traversing endless time and space, Hikaru heard Professor Fennel’s voice—

“You’re back!”

Just like when he disappeared, his reappearance was sudden.

Fennel had been extremely anxious when Hikaru vanished.

Fennel let out a sigh of relief: “You don’t know how much I was sweating. Even your Pokémon were anxiously watching me… I ended up reviewing all the data from the experiment again!”

“Even Truffle was scanning the space-time and dream fluctuations. Only when the Linkage waves remained stable did we confirm the C-Device was still functioning. But I’ve never been to that world, so…”

“Anyway, welcome back! So? How is that world different from ours? You said the Linkage Space was the center of Unova, but in our world, it’s just an endless ancient forest!”

Fennel had so many questions, and Truffle was just as curious. Now awake, she tilted her head adorably while looking at Hikaru.

“That world, huh…” Hikaru gave a brief explanation about the Linkage Space.

“But if you want specifics, why not ask the Linkage Tree yourself?”

“Since you developed the C-Device, you’re also a registered user of Release Power. The Linkage Tree is quite grateful to you.”

Hikaru handed the C-Device to Fennel.

Just then, laughing mischievously, Rotom dove straight into the C-Device!

“Ah! What’s happening?! The Pokémon went inside!”

Fennel adjusted her glasses, wide-eyed as she watched Rotom appear on the C-Device’s screen!

This dreamy researcher even picked up the device and started shaking it like a bottle of water!

Onscreen, Rotom continued to laugh mischievously, unaffected by the shaking!

“Any electrical appliance can be entered—this is Electric/Ghost-type Rotom, the Plasma Pokémon. It changes forms by entering special-motor appliances.”

“But I didn’t think it could enter the C-Device.”

Hikaru also watched curiously, but since the device lacked special motors, there was no outward change in its form. No new transformation.

The world didn’t yet have a Rotom Dex or Rotom appliances—those were originally specialized products, only later mass-produced.

But the earliest Rotoms could transform just by entering normal appliances. They didn’t need special motors. Maybe that’s their true strength.

In the manga, one Rotom even became a “Tolinar Ω Robot,” piloting a toy Gundam. No clue what type it was then.

If it was a robot, maybe Steel + Electric?

“Special motor?” Truffle tilted her head, confused. Hikaru folded his arms, thinking, “I think R9 Shopping Plaza should have some…”

“Ah! You mean this kind of appliance? Wait here a sec!”

Truffle had a lightbulb moment and dashed off, returning moments later with a big box!

“Look! My sister dismantled a bunch of appliances for the C-Device research, so we ordered replacements from R9. But Professor Juniper said these were unsellable products—completely unpopular!”

Truffle waved her hand: “These appliances use immature tech, making them hard to use and prone to crashing. With poor quality control, they became dead stock.”

“Roto~! Heeheehee!”

Rotom burst out from the C-Device like an ion, curling Truffle’s hair into natural waves, then zipped into one of the appliances in the box!

Bzzzz——

Rotom took flight!

Super Transformation!

Fan Rotom!

“…Fan Rotom enters a fan powered by a special motor, generating strong winds to blow enemies away. It loves playing pranks by blasting gusts of wind and then laughing wickedly…”

“A prankster that spits out storms, huh?”

“There are many appliances Rotom can enter, but the first to be developed was the electric fan.”

So this was the fan from R9!

Rotom’s gusts messed up Fennel’s hair, and then, unsatisfied, it dove straight into the oven!

Super Transformation!

Heat Rotom!

“Heat Rotom enters a special motor-powered oven or microwave. It specializes in fire-type attacks. It loves pranking by burning surroundings black and laughing joyfully.”

Hikaru muttered, but Truffle tilted her head.

“Hmm… it doesn’t look so good.”

“Roto-ro…”

Rotom looked constipated, mouth twitching, breaking into a cold sweat before ejecting itself from the oven and zipping back into the fan.

“If the oven is malfunctioning, Rotom gets sluggish too…”

“This is a super dud! No wonder it didn’t sell. These weren’t made in Sinnoh, were they?”

Truffle gasped: “Oh! How did you know? They were imported from Sinnoh!”

Hikaru: “…Then I know who made these lemons.”

Team Galactic. These were probably sold by Cyrus’s company!

No wonder the Galactic team had all those advanced signal technologies—they were legit appliance vendors!

“Galactic Electronics Company—subsidiary of the Galactic Foundation.”

Truffle counted on her fingers: “They’re really famous! They deal in household appliances, audio electronics, office products, aviation equipment, batteries, components, and more!”

“Their slogan is: A Better Life, A Better World!”

“That’s why Jubilife City has a Global Trade Center! Built with Galactic Foundation’s investment!”

“They’re a huge company in Sinnoh, and the CEO is a kind, down-to-earth businessman! Many researchers get their equipment from them!”

A better life, a better world?

So Team Galactic’s alternate-universe counterpart… is Panasonic.

“Truly beautiful. Definitely Cyrus’s company.”

A better world → a world without hearts.

Given Cyrus’s skill, if he cobbled these appliances together by hand, they’d probably be masterpieces.

Only someone like Team Galactic’s chief scientist, that little old man Charon, could mass-produce cheap junk and sell it wholesale.

“Hmm. Lend me the C-Device for a moment!”

Hikaru took the C-Device back and called out to the breezy Rotom.

“Heeheeheehee!~”

Rotom zipped out of the fan and jumped back into the C-Device with a grin!

[World Item (Special Pokémon Form): Linked Rotom·C-Device!]

[Description: The C-Device is a special tool for world traversal. Now inhabited by Rotom, it has become one of its forms! However, due to the unique nature of the C-Device, Rotom cannot change its shape.]

[Description: Visit Team Galactic and invite their leader Cyrus to upgrade the C-Device’s tech compatibility with Linked Rotom. This may unlock a unique Rotom form!]

[Expected Form Typings: Electric + Psychic / Electric + Steel / Electric + Normal.]

[Expected Learnable Moves: Psychic / Flash Cannon / Hyper Voice.]

[Due to the C-Device’s unique properties, additional moves may include: All space-type moves, all gear-type moves.]

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep