“Unknown… craftsman.”

Hikaru scratched his head.

Why was Cyrus so good at rubbing salt into wounds? Why was he always so blunt?

A “world without spirit”? Please. It was just because he was obsessed with machinery to the point where his emotional intelligence was practically nonexistent. He had no social skills, so he figured the best solution was to destroy the world.

For a moment, Hikaru didn’t know how to respond. He typed several messages, only to delete them all in the end. Eventually, he just sent a simple:

“You’re welcome.”

Whatever. At least Cyrus had sent over a mechanical manual—that was good stuff!

After all, the highest level of craftsmanship was building machines with one’s bare hands. In the Pokémon world, there weren’t many who could do that. The only ones Hikaru could think of were Cyrus and Colress.

…Well, if Pokémon counted, then Mewtwo from the movies seemed to have a knack for creating strange devices out of thin air. Though, whether the technology on that island was built by Mewtwo or just leftover Team Rocket equipment was unclear.

As for his own abilities, Hikaru was following six different crafting paths from an old game, with mechanical crafting being the last to unlock. It required a vast amount of knowledge because precision machinery relied on an immense foundation of theoretical learning.

“So during his inactive period, Cyrus must have been collecting and studying various machines. Was it all in preparation for the Red Chain? If so, then many of Team Galactic’s devices were probably built by Cyrus himself.”

Cyrus had always been fascinated by machinery. In the games, an old woman in Sunyshore City would talk about how Cyrus was a brilliant student who loved tinkering with machines as a child.

And in the Battle Frontier, his grandfather—found in a small house in the desert—mentioned that he had placed too many expectations on Cyrus, leading him down the wrong path and neglecting his emotional growth.

During this time, the only thing that brought Cyrus any comfort was the Rotom that suddenly appeared from within a machine.

In Rotom’s Room, there was a journal detailing Rotom’s forms and another logbook recording the moment Cyrus first met Rotom.

If Cyrus still had any attachments to the world, it wasn’t to his parents or his grandfather.

It was to Rotom.

“This is another form of bond between Pokémon and humans… in its own strange way.”

Hikaru sighed.

Across the games, anime, and Pokémon Special manga, only the manga version of Cyrus got a happy ending, where he finally understood the concept of ‘heart’.

In the games and anime?

One disappeared into the Distortion World, presumably never to return. The other was obliterated along with his “new world” by Dialga and Palkia.

“What is a heart…? The combination of emotions, will, and knowledge. That is the essence of the human spirit.”

After bidding farewell to his peculiar customer, Hikaru moved on to his next order—this one from a user named [Obsidian Miner].

A Request from Obsidian Miner

[Obsidian Miner]:

“I saw that your shop sells something called Destruction Gloves. They supposedly allow high-efficiency excavation and can even use Pokémon moves? Could you tell me the price and production time for a custom order?”

Oh? A custom tool request? Obsidian Miner… Was he a worker from Oreburgh Mine in Sinnoh?

Hikaru quoted a price and immediately began pitching the product’s benefits—explaining how Destruction Gloves could be invaluable for exploring the wilderness or dealing with emergencies in caves.

[Obsidian Miner]:

“Sounds great! I’ll place an order right now. This will really help!”

“Help?” Hikaru was a little puzzled. But thinking about it, maybe it was for dealing with large rocks or other obstacles in the mines.

“If you need to break stones, would you be interested in a sculpture that enhances destructive power?” Hikaru proactively upsold.

Previously, he had carved a Hydreigon statue for Colress, and it increased efficiency in destruction-based tasks. If he shrunk the design, it would be even more portable.

[Obsidian Miner]:

“Ah! No, no—it’s not about breaking things!”

The miner seemed a little embarrassed:

“I’m actually buying these gloves to increase my digging speed—I use excavation as a form of training!”

“I have a dream, you see. I’ve been refining my digging skills in the coal mines, and in the future, I want to create a vast underground tunnel network—one that connects different places all over the world, just like the Underground in Sinnoh!”

“I also want to collect tons of fossils and establish a fossil museum! And that museum will be located in the underground city that I’ll dig out myself!”

…Wait.

If this guy dug tunnels everywhere, wouldn’t the foundations of buildings collapse?!

Hikaru had always wanted to complain about Sinnoh’s Underground—the entire region was practically hollow underneath! How did no one ever worry about their houses sinking into the ground?!

And in the Diamond & Pearl remakes, there were even more massive caverns added underground.

Sinnoh’s entire subsoil structure was a disaster waiting to happen.

“Do you need any other excavation tools? I can make custom ones,” Hikaru asked, taking the chance to sell more.

[Obsidian Miner]:

“You do custom tools?! That’s awesome! I saw that option on your page, but I was so focused on the Destruction Gloves that I didn’t look further.

If you can custom-make more efficient excavation tools, I’d love that!”

“I’ll order an Exploration Kit then! Oh—sorry, you might not be familiar with the term. An Exploration Kit includes a hammer, pickaxe, shovel, and safety helmet.”

“No problem. The estimated delivery time will be one to two weeks,” Hikaru responded.

He deliberately extended the timeline—there were too many orders coming in, and he didn’t want to burn himself out.

Sure, gaining knowledge through work was exciting, but constant high-intensity labor wasn’t sustainable.

…

The next message came from [Verdant Brilliance]—a contact that Hikaru didn’t even remember adding.

Wait… This name seemed familiar?

After a moment, Hikaru realized—this was Gardenia’s ID!

Back in Eterna City, the original shop owner had worked on a custom Gym statue for her, so they were pretty familiar.

Gardenia was the Eterna Gym Leader, an expert in Grass-type Pokémon, with short orange hair styled in a bob.

[Verdant Brilliance]:

“Hey! How’ve you been? How’s life in Johto?

I saw your online shop—it looks like your sales are doing great! Are you adjusting well to the new region? More importantly… how’s your mental health?”

Since their ages were similar, the original owner had gotten along well with Gardenia. She was practically a longtime customer.

Hikaru replied:

“I’m doing alright. The workshop is stabilizing, and living far from the city has helped me find some peace.”

“Mental health recovery takes time. I’ll probably be in Johto for a few more months. Technically, I’m not even in a city—I’m in a small village deep in the mountains.”

[Verdant Brilliance]:

“I see! Well, I hope you recover soon. By the way, I saw that you do custom tools now. Does that mean you’ve learned some forging techniques?”

“Yep. Did you want something custom?” Hikaru asked.

[Verdant Brilliance]:

“Hmm… Grass-type tools? A watering can, gardening shears, a shovel? A hoe? A cultivator? There are too many choices!”

Hikaru chuckled.

“You have a lot of trees in your Gym. A garden tool set would be perfect. How about a full custom order?”

Hikaru began his sales pitch:

“If you buy the full set, I’ll give you a 20% discount. The total price will be somewhere between 100,000 to 200,000 Pokédollars. These tools all come with special abilities!”

[Verdant Brilliance]:

“Really?! Then I’ll take the whole set!

Since you’re pushing it so hard, I can tell you’ve mastered some incredible forging techniques! That’s great—if your business keeps growing, your mood will improve too, right?”

“Oh, and I also want to buy a Grassy Glass Whistle and a Focus Sash!”

“Alright then! Hope everything goes well for you in Johto!”

Gardenia completed her purchase for the custom tool set, along with a Grassy Glass Whistle and a Focus Sash.

Hikaru marked her order as a gardening tool kit. Just as he was about to process it, another message arrived.

A Mysterious Message from Heart of Fear

[Heart of Fear]:

“Kid… your spiritual knowledge is quite unusual.

I’ve carefully studied your charms—are you connected to the spirit world in some way?

…You’re not a ghost yourself, are you?”

Dealing with strange customers required patience and politeness.

Once you got to know some of them, they often turned out to be interesting people.

Hikaru recalled that someone had once said the same thing in the merchant group chat—that his spiritual energy might be tied to the spirit world.

But… he still didn’t really understand it himself.

Did the “basic spiritual knowledge” he had learned actually contain “fundamentals of spirit world communication”?

“Maybe it’s because I once had a near-death experience.”

That was the only explanation Hikaru could give.

[Heart of Fear]:

“Oh? A near-death experience, huh?

That doesn’t sound like a lie…

When you say ‘near death,’ do you mean you were literally dead? Your body had already perished, and your soul had entered the spirit world?”

“Did you know that some people gain mystical spirit-related powers after coming back from the brink of death?

It’s believed that those who cross the barrier of the spirit world might receive a gift from it.

That might explain why your spiritual abilities are so unique.”

“I’ve always thought that true Ghost-type experts are those who have experienced death firsthand.

Even I don’t fully qualify…

But not everyone who dies gets the spirit world’s blessing.

Some just die for real.”

“Here, take this. It might be useful to you.”

“The Nature of Ghost Pokémon and Souls”.PDF

“I sensed the aura of a Ghost-type Pokémon from your charms.

Perhaps it was a Ghost Pokémon that saved your life.

You should be grateful to it.

Sometimes, the bonds of the soul are invisible, but they are real.

This document contains some of my personal insights on training Ghost Pokémon, as well as information on soul cultivation. It’s nothing extravagant, just some knowledge I’ve gathered over the years.”

Hikaru was stunned.

Such valuable information—just given away for free?!

He checked the author of the document.

…Agatha?!

The former Elite Four of Kanto?!

“So it was Agatha! No wonder the tone sounded so weird.

That old lady has always been like this!”

Speaking of Agatha, Hikaru couldn’t help but think of Professor Oak.

Agatha wasn’t part of the Elite Four anymore.

Where was she living now?

Regardless, Hikaru sincerely appreciated the gift.

“Thank you.”

[Heart of Fear]:

“No need to thank me.

I’ll be keeping an eye on your Ghost-type items in the future.

And you… you should properly train your Ghost Pokémon!

If you’re up for it, consider switching careers and becoming a battler.

A craftsman is such a waste of your potential!”

Hikaru knew that Agatha was obsessed with battling, so he didn’t know how to respond.

Then an idea struck him—

“Oh! Right. How about I add you to the group chat?”

“This is my merchant group.

It’s full of Ghost-type specialists from different regions.”

[Heart of Fear]:

“A group chat…?

Hmm… sounds interesting.

There must be quite a few strong trainers in there, right?”

Hikaru sent the invite.

[Heart of Fear has joined the group chat!]

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep