章 46: Chapter 46: New System Functions Revealed

I lay flat on the forest floor, chest heaving, arms limp beside me, feeling the earth beneath my fingers. My mind reeled from the last encounter, the rush of adrenaline still pumping through me.

"Hey, are you okay now?" I asked, not bothering to look at Kadabra. His form hovered nearby, his presence a calming weight in my mind.

"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳,"Kadabra's voice echoed in my thoughts, cool and composed.

I grimaced, pushing myself up on my elbows. "Don't call me master," I muttered, my eyes flicking up to meet his. "Call me Punit."

Kadabra didn't waver. His tone never shifted. "𝘕𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳."

I sighed, running a hand through my tousled black hair. "Do all Pokémon act like this?" It wasn't a real question, not one I needed an answer to. But Kadabra, ever dutiful, responded as if I did.

"𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘬é𝘮𝘰𝘯,"his voice explained calmly. "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺."

Worthy. That word gnawed at me. I wasn't from here. I wasn't even supposed to exist in this body, yet here I was, commanding Pokémon with a mind filled with memories from another world. "Yeah, well, I'm still getting used to it."

I glanced around at my team. Venusaur sat nearby, cautious eyes scanning the surroundings. He was always like that, never fully at ease, like a coiled spring waiting to snap. Pidgeot preened his feathers, his sharp gaze occasionally darting in my direction. And Raichu—Raichu looked downright giddy, his tail flicking back and forth with excitement, eyes bright with energy. The jolly bastard never got tired.

I paused, my mind turning to Alisha and Lucy. I hadn't expected them to leave. Not this early, at least. "What do you think about their decision?" I asked Kadabra, even though I already knew what he'd say.

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳."Apologetic.

I stood, shaking off the dirt from my clothes. "Call me Punit. It's an order." I met Kadabra's eyes, this time more firmly. Around me, the others shifted slightly, as if nodding their agreement with the command. Kadabra's silence told me he understood, but I doubted he'd change.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a voice. Cold. Mechanical."𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰, 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵?"

I froze, my muscles tensing, eyes wide. That voice... it didn't belong to anyone here. Instinctively, I opened my holographic display, scanning for the source.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my mind racing through possibilities. Was this some new enemy?

"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺," the voice responded smoothly, "𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮."

My eyebrows shot up, suspicion creeping in. "Why so late?" I wasn't buying it. The system had been with me since day one, and now this? Out of nowhere?

"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,"Friday answered, the voice as emotionless as ever.

"Organization?" I repeated, my tone sharp. "What's the name of this organization?"

"𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯." The words sent a chill down my spine, and Friday continued before I could even process. "𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮."

My mouth went dry. Basic functions? My eyes darted to my Pokémon. They were staring at me, confused, as if they could sense my sudden unease. "What do you mean?"

Friday didn't hesitate. "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘬é𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯-𝘐𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯... 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨."

I leaned forward, heart pounding in my chest. "How can I access the System Shop? And what can I buy?"

"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘺𝘮 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘺𝘮 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴," Friday explained. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴."

My mind was spinning now. The possibilities, the power. "So, I could buy something like a Master Ball?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘴," Friday confirmed, "𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦."

Better than a Master Ball? Before I could even ask more, Friday added, "𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘗𝘰𝘬é𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘬é𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘰𝘬é𝘮𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦."

My head was spinning. Use their moves myself? How was that even possible? And why did I need six different types?

Before I could form another question, Friday's voice cut through my thoughts. "𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

"Sponsor me?" I asked, but it was too late. The connection severed, leaving me standing in the silence of the forest, stunned. I muttered under my breath, "Damn, she's gone."

"What the hell is going on?" I clenched my fists. This system—it had layers, hidden beneath layers, and I was only scratching the surface. "Guess I need to catch my six Pokémon first and see what happens."

"𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵," Kadabra's voice broke through my thoughts, his calm presence a grounding force, "𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥."

I blinked, forcing myself to breathe, to focus. "Yeah, let's get moving." I dusted off my jeans, rolling my shoulders to ease the tension. "I've already given Alisha and Lucy a day's head start. They can go ahead for now."

I recalled Venusaur and Kadabra into their Pokéballs, the familiar hum of the devices almost comforting. Walking over to Raichu, I crouched down and patted his head. "You okay, buddy?"

Raichu nodded, his bright eyes never losing their spark, his enthusiasm contagious. I returned him to his ball and turned to Pidgeot. "Let's go," I said, my voice steady again as I climbed onto his back.

With a powerful flap of his wings, we soared into the sky, the wind rushing past us as we headed toward Cerulean City. But beneath the excitement, the thrill of flight, one thought echoed in my mind:

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺?