{T/N: Stones and Reviews are always appreciated...}
~~~
Caleb didn't know about Kyogre's little thoughts. In any case, it could fly, so it could go wherever it wanted...
He then released all his Pokémon, including Dragonite, to let them rest. Meanwhile, he went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, splashing water on his face.
The young man in the mirror was handsome with well-defined features. Compared to when he had first entered the Instance, his face now carried a trace of maturity and steadiness.
He grinned, and the reflection in the mirror grinned back.
After washing off the makeup from his face, Caleb stepped out of the bathroom to find Jessie and James already waiting for him.
Seeing him approach, Jessie immediately played the video sent by the Resistance...
Pale blue light intertwined in the air, forming a modest-sized virtual screen. The footage on the screen seemed dated, with poor image quality. It was almost like a journalist's covert recording in an adult entertainment venue.
After a few flickering clips with shadowy figures, voices finally emerged.
"Why did you make Mewtwo do such a thing?!" a voice demanded.
At this point, the camera provided a somewhat unclear shot.
Even so, Caleb recognized the man on the screen.
The man wore a black suit, had a crew-cut hair, and a lazy Persian rested by his leg. It was Giovanni... or, more accurately, Giovanni from seventy years ago...
Giovanni looked at the person before him with a faint smile but did not answer. The atmosphere suddenly grew quiet.
After a roughly two-minute pause, Giovanni sighed softly and said, "I originally thought you'd be a good partner... You kidnapped my son, leaving him trapped in a room to starve to death. You interfered with Mewtwo's research, cozying up to Blaine. Sawa, you've disappointed me greatly. From the very beginning, your goal in approaching Team Rocket was Mewtwo, wasn't it? No– not just Mewtwo... Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Lugia… So many Legendary Pokémon. Your appetite is truly enormous."
The man called Sawa choked at these words, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "Y-you… knew all along?"
The temperature in Giovanni's voice dropped to freezing, "So, how would you like to die?"
"N-no, you can't kill me!" Sawa took two steps back, seemingly making a major decision. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm not from this world! I'm a player from the Infinite World!"
At that moment, Caleb felt as if he could hear the system notification before the player was thrown into a punishment Instance. The next second, the player named Sawa vanished into thin air right in front of Giovanni, leaving only a small black camera on the ground.
Giovanni abruptly stood up, fists clenched, his expression dark and unreadable as he stared at the camera.
The video ended abruptly...
James gulped, his face twisting strangely as he muttered, "So Sawa was the one who killed Silver…"
"No wonder Giovanni was so furious that day…" Jessie murmured, recalling the past.
Caleb had a rough understanding of the situation by now. He asked, "You knew him?"
"He treated us to dinner a few times, nyaa," Meowth nodded.
As if remembering something, Jessie said to Caleb, "Reika said this video was found on Team Rocket's dark web. She wanted me to ask if you recognized this person."
Caleb shook his head...
The Infinite World had countless players, and everyone was busy... either completing missions or staying home with their Pokémon, rarely venturing out for leisure.
At most, they might visit the Pokémon Paradise to sunbathe, enjoy the breeze, or gaze at the stars.
After watching the video, Caleb had a rough guess about what had happened: That player had tried to capture Mewtwo, Zapdos, and other Legendary Pokémon, which drove Giovanni to the brink.
When exposed, the player exploited the punishment Instance's mechanics to escape, leaving behind a Giovanni consumed by darkness.
The world's collapse began from that moment...
Caleb couldn't help but think of his own dedicated world. If nothing went wrong, that world would become his permanent home once he saved up enough points to buy the World Travel ticket.
But he was a little worried...
What if, before he could gather enough points, another player ruined that world? Would Cynthia encounter other players? When he returns, would she still remember him?
Caleb felt a headache coming on.
If he could escape this punishment Instance, he would definitely need to make some serious plans for his future. But for now, the most important thing was dealing with Archie...
With that in mind, he asked, "Has Archie woken up yet?"
Jessie shook her head, "Not yet."
Meowth covered his mouth in worry, as if struck by a thought, and remarked, "You don't think he got brain damage and turned into an idiot, do you?"
Caleb replied, "It's fine. Even if he did, he's not much use anymore..."
....
Time quickly passed, and evening arrived...
Archie still hadn't woken up.
Jessie and James were preparing dinner in the kitchen, while Caleb stood up, intending to check on Kyogre outside.
The natural scenery around Pallet Town was already beautiful, especially at dusk, when the mountains and rivers were bathed in a soft orange glow, exuding a sense of comfort and relaxation.
As soon as Caleb stepped out, he spotted Kyogre in the nearby river...
Kyogre was massive, standing at about 4.5 meters tall. Its enormous body looked particularly cramped in the shallow two-meter-deep river, with half of it exposed above the water.
When it noticed Caleb approaching, its golden eyes fixed on him.
Caleb took out a few Pokéblocks from his inventory, sat by the riverbank, and said to Kyogre, "Open wide~"
Only then did Kyogre's eyes flicker. It glanced at the glistening Pokéblocks, and its mouth involuntarily cracked open slightly.
Seizing the moment, Caleb deftly tossed the Pokéblocks inside.
Watching the satisfied look in Kyogre's eyes, he suddenly remembered the two SSS-tier item fragments he had obtained after freeing Groudon and Kyogre... Combined with the one he already had, they were just enough to synthesize a complete item.
Leaving Kyogre to its own devices, Caleb opened his inventory, selected the fragments, and clicked
The next second, a golden light burst from the panel:
*Ding!*
[Synthesis complete! Congratulations, player, on obtaining the SSS-tier item
[Reverse Clock (SSS): Time drowns in the dim depths of the sea, flowing silently through the veins. Let it recede with the suffering waters, back to the point before the Collapse.
- A single-use item that disappears after activation...]
[1. After activation, the player may freely set the rewind time. Once set, the Reverse Clock begins charging. Once fully charged, it will officially activate, rewinding the Instance world's time to the set point.]
[2. This item has no side effects and will not create any alternate timelines.]
[3. The user may travel back in time with the Reverse Clock. Memories and items will remain unaffected.]
[4. Congratulations, you've found the true path to salvation!]