Hatsumi shook her head and said, "I don't have Swords Dance, but I do have another item you might find useful."
"What is it?" Caleb asked.
Hatsumi rummaged through her Inventory, and soon pulled out a sharp tooth-shaped object.
"Dragon Fang," she explained, "When held, it boosts the power of a Pokémon's Dragon-type moves by 20%. It is perfect for your chubby green dragon."
"Deal!" Caleb folded.
The two immediately reached an agreement and exchanged the items...
Caleb opened his Inventory interface, selected Dragonite, and clicked 'Equip'.
In the next second, a small tooth icon appeared in the bottom right corner of Dragonite's avatar.
"All set!" Hatsumi, who had clearly equipped hers to her Kadabra as well, grinned, "Wanna add me as a friend?"
Caleb was taken aback, but then a new notification popped up on his panel:
[Player Haruno Hatsumi has requested to add you as a friend. Accept?]
[Friend function officially unlocked!]
[Note: Friend function is only available in the Infinite World. Disabled during missions!]
Caleb selected 'Accept'.
Hatsumi closed her panel and flashed a bright smile, revealing a row of pearly white teeth, "Wanna walk around? As a friendship gift, I'll give you some super useful tips for newbies, free of charge."
So the two strolled along the commercial district's path.
After a while, she asked, "Have you seen that giant Pikachu statue in the plaza?"
Caleb nodded.
Hatsumi continued, "That's actually the entrance and exit for all missions. Pikachu symbolizes the starting point of Pokémon, like Ash in the anime, or Pokémon Yellow."
She paused, a smirk tugging at her lips, "But besides being a gateway, that statue has another very practical function... All Infinite players can spend points there to exchange for Trainer skills..."
"...Stuff like『Scout』, which lets you see an opponent's Pokémon levels, or『Viridian Power』, which can heal your Pokémon."
"...Basic skills like Scout are affordable for everyone, but Viridian Power is just ridiculous... It costs a whooping 500 000 points. As far as I know, less than a hundred players in the entire Infinite World have it."
Caleb thought about the 990 000-point ticket and nodded in agreement, "That's insane. It feels like I've been isekai'd into a pay-to-win mobile game."
Hatsumi burst out laughing, "Right? I felt the exact same way when I first got here."
Something about her words struck Caleb as odd, so he asked, "How long have you been here?"
Hatsumi counted on her fingers. Then she replied, "Probably 50 or 60 years? I've lost track."
Caleb: ^surprised Pikachu face.jpg^
"Then how do you know modern memes?" he asked.
Hatsumi rolled her eyes, "What are you thinking? We're from the same era! Besides, time here clearly flows differently from the outside world."
"Fair enough." Caleb figured if he could accept being isekai'd, he could accept anything, so time dilation between realms was nothing huge in comparison...
But he was still curious, "You've been here for decades and still haven't saved up enough points?"
Hatsumi sighed. Then she massaged her temple and said, "You think points are easy to come by? I only get about 20 per mission. If I'm lucky and complete a hidden mission, maybe 50 or 60. And the expenses here are insane... if it weren't for my shops, I'd have starved to death ages ago."
Caleb, who had earned 200 points in his first mission, wisely kept his mouth shut.
Hatsumi grew more agitated as she spoke, "Screw this! The more I think about it, the angrier I get! You need points to eat, points to raise Pokémon, points for everything! I worked my ass off my whole life, and now I'm still slaving away for some unknown bastard after death!"
Caleb: "...."
Hatsumi's chest heaved with barely contained rage.
She waved a hand dismissively, "Whatever. I'm going back to my shop to drink some herbal tea and calm down. You can explore on your own!"
With that, she teleported away...
Now out of items to trade, Caleb wandered the commercial district for a while but couldn't find a single stall selling the Swords Dance TM.
Disappointed, he teleported to the plaza...
...
Beneath the towering Pikachu statue, new players continuously materialized...
Caleb glanced at them before turning his attention to the statue itself.
Instantly, his panel popped up:
- Scout : Allows you to view a target Pokémon's level. Exchange cost: 50 points...
- Viridian Power: A mystical power that connects with Pokémon and heals their injuries. Exchange cost: 500 000 points...
- Psychic: Grants simple psychic abilities, such as teleportation and telekinesis. Exchange cost: 500 000 points...
- Dragon's Aura: A mystical power that enhances the strength of Dragon-type Pokémon. Exchange cost: 500 000 points...
Further down were abilities like Aura Sphere and Creepy Darkness, all uniformly priced at 500 000 points...
'Absolutely ridiculous!'
Caleb looked at his pitiful 200-point balance and expressionlessly exchanged for the cheapest option: 『Scout』...
His points immediately dropped from 200 to 150...
"Home!" Without lingering, Caleb teleported back to his undecorated room.
Staying in this blank white void for seven days was not an option. So he decided to splurge...
A Pikachu-themed bed for 5 points? Bought!
An Eevee-patterned comforter for 5 points? Bought!
A sunny sky wallpaper for 3 points? Bought!
An Animal Crossing-themed Switch for 1 point? Bought!
A massive flat-screen TV for 1 point? Bought!
As his room gradually transformed, Caleb felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
'This must be the allure of microtransactions... It feels amazing!'
Once everything was set up, Caleb worried his Pokémon might get bored inside their Poké Balls. So he released both of them without hesitation.
Then, he turned on the TV to keep them entertained.
Mimikyu was fine, but Dragonite's two-meter-tall frame looked downright pitiful in the cramped space.
Watching Dragonite hunch over awkwardly, its head nearly brushing the ceiling, Caleb resolved to earn more points...
'No way am I letting my Pokémon live in such a tiny and suffocating space, where it can't even spread its wings and soar freely like it could in the Dragon Holy Land...'
...
The seven-day break in the Infinite World passed in the blink of an eye...
On the third day, Hatsumi sent a message reminding Caleb to keep an eye on his points. Failing a mission would deduct a huge amount, and if his balance went negative, he'd be 'sent away'.
Caleb wanted to reply with a thanks, but the panel displayed:
[This player has entered an Instance and cannot receive messages...]
So he let it go.
Finally, the seven days ended. Following the prompt, Caleb returned to the Pikachu statue. Then, everything went black.
A cold, emotionless voice rang out:
[Welcome, player, to the large-scale role-playing mission!]
[Your assigned identity is... "Bug Catcher"!]