"I think using wide-range moves like Thunderbolt or Hurricane would've been better just now." Caleb crouched in front of Dragonite, speaking softly...
Dragonite's shimmering emerald-green eyes blinked in surprise at the words before lifting its gaze to meet Caleb's.
Caleb smiled and extended his hand, "Come on, leave with us. Let's go see the rest of the world together?"
Dragonite fell silent for a moment. Instead of placing its paw in his hand, it stood up, pointed at Mimikyu, and shook its head.
Caleb froze, glancing between Dragonite and Mimikyu hesitantly, then asked, "You... don't want to team up with Mimikyu?"
Mimikyu immediately tensed up.
"Wuu!" Dragonite shook its head again, then pointed at itself and mimed breathing fire.
This time, Caleb understood, "You mean your decision to use Flamethrower against Mimikyu wasn't wrong?"
Dragonite paused, two exasperated sweat drops appeared on its forehead as it struggled to articulate itself.
Just then, an amused voice chimed in from behind: "What Dragonite means is that it hasn't actually lost to Mimikyu yet!"
Caleb turned to see Nurse Joy riding up on a scooter with her Chansey in tow.
"Is that what you meant?" Caleb scratched his head.
Dragonite exhaled in relief at Nurse Joy's explanation, then reached out and patted Caleb's shoulder like an older brother, pointing at the Poké Ball on his waist.
Now Caleb truly understood. Delighted, he unclipped the Poké Ball and held it out to Dragonite.
Dragonite tapped the ball with its claw, then its massive form dissolved into red light as it was absorbed inside.
The red-and-white sphere wobbled twice before settling with a soft click...
At that, both Caleb and Mimikyu let out a sigh of relief.
'Ahhhh! I Finally caught the chonky dragon! And it's a green shiny Dragonite to boot!'
Caleb wanted to shout like Ash in excitement, but it felt too cringey to say out loud, especially with Nurse Joy right there.
His heart raced with joy, but his face remained perfectly composed as he calmly asked, "Nurse Joy, what brings you here?"
Nurse Joy smiled, then glanced around before explaining, "Because all the Pokémon in the Dragon Holy Land suddenly started running in the same direction. I thought something bad had happened!"
Caleb turned and only then noticed the hulking shadows lurking in the distance, including the Druddigon he had battled earlier.
The Pokémon hadn't approached, they were merely observing the fight from afar.
Caleb was baffled, "What are they doing?"
Nurse Joy couldn't help but laugh, "These guys get beaten up by Dragonite every single day. They've been 'praying' for someone to take it away. Congratulations!"
"So that's how it is." Caleb found the Holy Land's residents oddly endearing.
The Pokémon, however, did not find him endearing. To them, this human was just another devil... He was no different from the tyrannical Dragonite.
Nurse Joy patted Mimikyu's head, feeding it a nutrient-rich recovery drink before looking up, "Where will you go next?"
Caleb thought for a moment before replying, "I want to see other regions with Dragonite and Mimikyu."
"How wonderful." Nurse Joy genuinely smiled, "Will you leave now? Or stay a few more days?"
Caleb thought for a moment. He still had over two months before the instance forced him out... Technically, he had plenty of time, but his experience here hadn't been particularly enjoyable...
Plus, he wanted to check out the 'Infinite World' Lucien and Victor had mentioned.
So he said, "If I leave now, I might still catch the last flight out of Johto before dark."
Nurse Joy understood. With a smile, she said, "Then... goodbye! May your journey ahead be wonderful!"
....
After leaving the Dragon Holy Land, Caleb called Lance to say farewell, explaining he planned to explore the wider world...
Lance didn't say much, nor did he bring up the letter from before. He simply replied, "Have fun. Kanto will always be your home."
Caleb chuckled and hung up.
[Leave the Instance?]
Caleb walked to an empty clearing and pressed the prompt... "Yes."
The next second, his surroundings vanished, replaced by a blank white void.
A translucent panel automatically popped up, lines of text rapidly scrolling across it.
[Instance "Infernal Affairs" settlement in progress...]
[Main Mission completion confirmed!]
[Rewards:
[Hidden Mission completion confirmed!]
[Rewards:
[Scenario/Instance exploration rate: 32%]
[Player evaluation: SS...]
[Calculating points...]
[Congratulations, Player Caleb Chase has earned 200 points!]
Before Caleb could process it all, the white space dissolved, and was replaced by a massive plaza.
Crowds bustled around a towering Pikachu statue at the center.
The moment Caleb appeared on the plaza, dark thunderclouds abruptly gathered overhead.
"Holy shit! Who's lucky enough to trigger Achievement Lightning?!"
"I'm so jealous!"
At the commotion, swarms of people rushed toward the statue and stared at the sky...
Then...
*Booom!*
...A violet bolt of lightning struck down. A monotone voice announced:
"Congratulations to Player Caleb Chase for unlocking achievements:
- Child Slayer...
- Double Agent...
- Time Management Master..."
The entire Infinite World erupted.
"HOLY COW! THREE ACHIEVEMENTS AT ONCE?! IS THE SYSTEM GLITCHING?!"
"Newbie here, can someone explain what achievements do?"
"Each achievement is worth one point. Collect 200, and you can custom-order a Pokémon in the Achievement Shop! Achievements are insanely hard to get. The current top player only has 11 points."
"'Double Agent'... 'Time Management Master'... 'Child Slayer'... What the hell did this Caleb guy do in his instance?! None of these sound good..."
Caleb's face darkened at the chatter. Before anyone could spot him, he bolted from the scene.
As he left the plaza, another prompt appeared:
[Return to your personal room?]
Without hesitation, Caleb confirmed, "Yes!"
In the next instant, he materialized inside a 70-square-meter white room...