Thunderous Visitor!

The black shadow was enormous, easily over two meters tall. Its entire body was wrapped in terrifying black mist, radiating a powerful sense of oppression that made its true form impossible to see.

A pair of scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Luo Chen, as if they would tear him apart the very next second.

Faced with such overwhelming pressure, Luo Chen temporarily lost even the ability to think, his heartbeat accelerating without pause.

Was this a Pokémon? A Ghost-type Pokémon?

How could something like this appear on the back mountain of Mount Coronet...?

Countless thoughts flashed through Luo Chen's mind, and his instinctive reaction was to turn and run.

But in the next moment, to his surprise, the black shadow standing before him suddenly took a step back.

Then it took another step back.

It kept widening the distance between itself and Luo Chen. Although its gaze remained fixed on him, its oppressive aura and imposing presence had clearly weakened considerably.

Luo Chen seemed to understand something as well.

Judging by the power it had displayed, if it meant him harm, it could have attacked directly...

Could its current actions be a gesture of goodwill?

If that was the case, there was no need to run in a hurry. After thinking for a moment, Luo Chen lowered his voice and asked the black shadow.

"Are you looking for me... for something?"

"..."

In response, a strange, indistinct sound came from within the black shadow.

Luo Chen frowned. This was troublesome. Communication between humans and Pokémon was difficult enough to begin with, and this one looked as though it could not speak at all.

What was he supposed to do?

Just as he was at a loss, he suddenly noticed something strange about the black shadow.

Although it radiated a terrifying aura, a closer look revealed that it was trembling constantly, as if enduring some immense pain.

Looking more carefully, he could see that something seemed to be moving continuously beneath the black mist shrouding its body.

He stepped closer, wanting to see more clearly, but the shadow suddenly retreated. It shook its body and made an urgent sound.

"...!"

"You're worried about me?"

Luo Chen froze for a moment.

"..."

The shadow shook again. Barely discernible from its movements, it seemed to be nodding.

"It's fine. Stay where you are and let me take a look."

As Luo Chen spoke, he stepped forward again. With his approach, that terrifying oppressive force once more washed over him.

But at the same time, Luo Chen clearly saw what was moving beneath the black mist.

They looked like... some kind of symbols?

Just as he was pondering what they were, his vision suddenly went black.

When his sight returned, he was standing in a vast desert.

Blazing sunlight shone down from the sky, scorching his skin.

He looked up and saw that the sky was covered in an eerie blackness. It looked like nighttime, yet the sunlight undeniably existed.

What was going on?

Before he had time to think, a voice came from beside him.

"Master, why do we have to throw gold coins into this seal? Can't we use something else?"

Luo Chen turned around and discovered that two people were standing behind him. The speaker was a young man holding a Togepi.

Beside him stood an elderly man in a long robe, holding a gold coin in his hand.

With a flick of his finger, he tossed the coin into the cave.

"Gold is the best conductor for seals. It can reinforce the seal and keep it functioning for a long time, so it cannot be replaced."

"Please, Gardevoir."

As the old man spoke, a Gardevoir behind him raised her hand. A faint blue glow burst forth and flew into the cave.

"But Master, what if a passerby or Pokémon sees the gold coin and picks it up? Wouldn't our seal be ruined?"

The young man paused, then asked another question.

However, the old man merely smiled.

"The seal will make them return the coin."

"Master, can you speak normally? I don't understand."

The young man curled his lips and bounced the Togepi in his arms.

"Sigh, your sealing classes really were for nothing."

"The seal follows every conductor that bears it. If someone takes a conductor away from the seal, they themselves will become part of the seal and bear immense pressure."

"Until they return the conductor, or are crushed by that pressure."

As the old man spoke, he waved his hand.

The Gardevoir beside him nodded. Dazzling blue light erupted from her body, and countless grains of yellow sand gathered from the ground, burying the entire cave.

"There should be no problem now. Let's go. We don't have much time left..."

The moment his words fell, everything before Luo Chen vanished.

He returned to the black shadow's side.

...So his ability had activated just now?

Through the symbols on the black shadow's body, he had seen images of those symbols' past.

Then... after considering everything he had just seen, Luo Chen spoke to the black shadow.

"Did you take something from somewhere before?"

The shadow paused, making a strange sound tinged with confusion.

"...?"

Clearly, Luo Chen's question had been far too vague.

Luo Chen realized that as well and changed his wording.

"For example... um, a gold coin, or something else valuable? Something you took from a cave or some strange place, before you became like this."

At those words, the black shadow froze again, then suddenly seemed to realize something.

Its body began to tremble. Beneath the layers of black mist, it spat out a golden object.

It was a gold coin, its surface covered in mottled wear and tear. Yet Luo Chen could tell with certainty that it was the very coin he had seen in that vision.

"That's it. Do you remember where you found it?"

"Put this back, and you'll be fine."

The black shadow was clearly stunned. It seemed hesitant, but after a brief moment of thought, it took back the coin, turned around, and instantly disappeared from where it stood.

Luo Chen looked thoughtfully at the spot where the shadow had vanished.

If his senses were correct, that thing really was a Ghost-type Pokémon. Its aura and behavior were simply too similar.

He just did not know what kind of Pokémon it was...

And that image he had just seen... had it come from this world's ancient past?

The black sky appeared in his mind again.

What exactly had been sealed within that cave?

Luo Chen could not help feeling a little regretful. Unfortunately, he had not had time to ask anything.

But then again, it did not seem like it could communicate with him anyway...

Forget it.

Luo Chen stretched.

He was just a guy running an internet café.

Besides, since it lived on the back mountain, he would run into it again sooner or later.

That... ruin probably was not too far from here, right?

Come to think of it, this incident had reminded him once again.

If he was going to live on this back mountain, he really needed a Pokémon companion.

After the black shadow incident, Luo Chen hurried all the way back to the internet café. Fortunately, nothing else happened along the way.

He took several Berries from his clothes, walked over to the Berry-making machine, and began mixing juice.

He did not use yesterday's recipes. Instead, he used several new Berries he had picked today to complete three separate new mixtures.

Soon, three jars appeared before him.

One red, one blue, and one white.

His gaze fell first upon the red jar, and a string of information immediately appeared.

[Successfully made: Lantern Berry Mint Water (C+)]

[Description: A refreshing drink made by carefully grinding Lantern Berries, removing their bitterness, and blending them with mint. After consumption, it slightly improves the visual abilities of humans or Pokémon.]

[Duration: 6 hours]

Improves visual ability...

Luo Chen rubbed his chin. This was actually quite useful in battle. In reality, whether a Trainer was commanding their Pokémon or a Pokémon was making split-second judgments, eyesight was a very useful attribute.

The only drawback was that its duration was a little too short.

He continued on to inspect the blue jar.

[Successfully made: Thunder Sprite (C-)]

[Description: Uses the seeds inside Thunderclap Berries to imitate the bubbles and flavor of a certain beverage, perfectly recreating its taste, but it does not seem to have any special effects.]

Luo Chen: ...

Wait, this machine could make drinks like this too?

Forget it. At least it tasted good...

He rubbed his forehead and placed his hopes on the final white jar.

This time, accompanied by a strange sound effect, the prompt window that appeared before him changed. Even the text turned golden!

[Congratulations, you have made a special drink: Voice of All Things (A)]

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow.

He had hit the jackpot?

If he remembered correctly, the last drink had been made with a blue triangular fruit and a red Berry with a hard shell.

Those two Berries had been the rarest ones he found today. After making the drink, there were none left at all.

He immediately checked the drink's effects.

[Description: High-quality Tamarind Berries and Psychic Hard Berries have undergone a special reaction, granting this drink a wondrous effect. After drinking it, a human can hear the thoughts of all living beings within five meters and understand the meaning of any language.]

[Duration: 6 hours]

After reading it all in one go, Luo Chen nodded.

Although the duration was also short, the effect was on a completely different level.

Being able to hear other people's thoughts... sounded somewhat like the ability of Psychic-type Pokémon...

If he had drunk this beverage while facing that black shadow earlier, communication would have been much easier.

And... being able to understand any language was also an excellent effect.

After all, in this world, communication between humans and Pokémon was not as simple as he had imagined. Most of the time, people could only guess at what a Pokémon meant.

Only after Trainers and Pokémon spent a long time together could they easily understand each other through their mutual bond.

Luo Chen was very satisfied with this drink. He carefully put it back into the refrigerator, intending to save it for himself.

However, at that moment, a disturbance came from outside.

Luo Chen was startled.

Had the people Cynthia called arrived?

So soon?

He walked toward the door, then suddenly stopped.

Because the one standing outside was not a person.

It was a... Gengar.

And a white Thunder Sprite Mega Gengar, at that...