Chapter 63: The Client from Unova

In the Unova region, inside a villa in Undella Town, bright sunlight slanted warmly into the interior.

A young girl with a waterfall of golden hair was browsing the online shop while messaging her butler, Cress.

"......The item's effect is wonderful. I feel my control over my psychic powers has grown even more refined."

"No, the Snorlax sculpture itself doesn't directly enhance psychic powers, but it calms my inner self. Whenever I look at it, my mind and power gradually settle down, and my influence on the surrounding environment diminishes."

"Thank you, Cress."

["That is merely my duty as a butler, milady, there is no need to thank me!"]

["I specifically chose it hoping it would be of help to you. In any case, I am so glad to hear the sculpture is working effectively!"]

Cress replied from the other side of the Pokégear, feeling a sense of relief that the Snorlax sculpture was able to assist Caitlin.

["Then, as for milady's travels in Unova..."]

"Ah, I've recently made a new friend, and she greatly acknowledges my strength. Don't worry, Cress, the environment in Unova is lovely. I'm living in my own villa now, experiencing all sorts of Pokémon. You simply can't find these Pokémon in other regions; they are truly fascinating."

["You seem to be thoroughly enjoying Unova. If there is anything else you need, please feel free to let me know at any time."]

"I recently defeated a Trainer—apparently one of the Unova Elite Four... I've been recommended for the position, they said I should become a new member of the Elite Four."

["What—what—what—what?!"]

Even through the Pokégear, the young girl named Caitlin could easily picture the look of sheer astonishment on her butler's face. After all, achieving such a feat so soon after arriving in Unova must have left him both surprised and proud.

Thinking of this, Caitlin couldn't help feeling a tiny surge of pride.

Of course, the sculpture had played a huge role in this process as well. That serene and comfortable-looking Snorlax, carrying an ancient aura as if it had been sleeping peacefully since time immemorial—whenever she looked at it, her mood would quiet down, and her control over her psychic powers would become much finer, preventing her from causing excessive damage to external objects.

Thus, even when she lost a battle, she no longer flew into an uncontrollable rage.

Yes, battles inherently involved both wins and losses, and she still needed much more tempering. With such thoughts in mind, Caitlin sent her reply to Cress:

"However, I didn't agree immediately, because I feel my power is still not mature enough, so I need to train and refine myself a bit more at least."

"When I was with you before, I never realized that battling could be such an exciting and interesting thing... I just need to gain better control over my psychic powers."

"As for that helpful sculpture, I love it very much. I've also been keeping an eye on the store you recommended. The shopkeeper seems to sell a lot of interesting items; if anything catches my eye, I'll send it to you and trouble you to have it shipped to me."

"However, the store doesn't sell many other art pieces, which troubles me a bit. I think that besides ornaments like sculptures, they should also add paintings, rugs, and more artistic variety. That way, I can use those items to decorate my villa."

"Well then, let's chat again next time, Cress."

"Hoh—" Caitlin saw Cress's reply pop up and then peacefully put down her Pokégear. It was only then that another person in her room spoke up:

"Your butler is truly devoted to you! I wish I had such a considerate butler."

Wearing a black mini-skirt, black silk stockings, and an outfit with exaggerated decorations on the upper half, a short-haired woman looked at Caitlin with a hint of envy. She seemed to have been writing just moments before, and now she stretched lazily, fully displaying her graceful physical curves.

Shauntal, one of the Unova Elite Four, and also a renowned and talented novelist in the Unova region!

"He is my butler, after all. I can't lend him to you," Caitlin replied with complete seriousness. Shauntal immediately waved her hands, saying, "Alright, alright! I was just joking!"

"Speaking of which, the decorations in your house are truly magical. Even when I look at that sculpture, my emotions gradually calm down... Ahh! This won't do! I really can't write anything here!" Shauntal suddenly grabbed her short purple hair in mild distress. "As a novelist, it's impossible to write passionate words when one's emotions are completely calm! You need intense feelings to write a climax!"

"I originally came to your house to gather inspiration, but instead, it's made my mind so peaceful I can't write a single thing!"

Shauntal stared speechlessly at the Snorlax sculpture. Looking at it almost made her feel sleepy, too.

Caitlin had told her that there were wonderful things at her house, which was why she came over, but the end result was that her brain had completely gone blank!

The sensation was wonderful and very comfortable, but for a novelist, that was a disaster!

Shauntal had asked Caitlin whether the sculpture possessed some sort of psychic power, but the answer was that the sculpture itself inherently carried a mysterious, wondrous force. How amazing!

"Then why don't you have a sculpture custom-made? There might be sculptures out there that can stir up intense emotions," Caitlin replied calmly while browsing the shop's product page on the Pokégear, carefully deliberating and making her selections.

Shauntal also began browsing the store's interface: "......Actually, earlier I saw that the store had some special paper talismans inscribed as the favorite items of Ghost-type Pokémon. I wanted to buy those, but they had already sold out long ago."

"Darn it, if only I had discovered this shop sooner."

Ever since Caitlin introduced her to this shop, Shauntal found that while browsing the merchandise, a flood of inspiration would naturally well up in her mind. However, due to the calming effect of the Snorlax sculpture, those inspirations would swiftly drift away on the wind, causing Shauntal to forget them entirely!

How could a Snorlax sculpture cause "instant amnesia"?!

Shauntal was quite speechless. Those fleeting inspirations would gradually vanish, yet every time she continued browsing the store, new streams of inspiration would endlessly bubble up.

This feeling was truly a mix of sweet and agonizing!

A wondrous workshop hidden in an unknown corner of the world, producing items with special effects... As the opening premise for a new novel, it ought to be quite good, evoking boundless imagination!

Even so, Shauntal's favorite genre to write remained passionate Trainers challenging the Elite Four!

The bond between Trainers and the Pokémon they owned—every person who lived alongside Pokémon had a story to tell... Stories of humans and Pokémon helping each other out were far more interesting than stories featuring only humans or only Pokémon...

So... what kind of Pokémon would this craftsman possess? What kind of stories had he experienced in the past, or would he experience in the future?

Shauntal pondered as she continued to scroll through the sculpture merchandise page in her Pokégear.

"If it's a sculpture, choosing a Chandelure should be nice, though I wonder what kind of effect it has..." Shauntal thought to herself before sending an inquiry message.

"Can the effect of a Pokémon sculpture be customized?"

Staring at the store's reply interface, she quickly spotted the message sent by Glowing Moss.

["The effect of each Pokémon sculpture is different. In fact, even I do not know what the effect of an unknown Pokémon will be. This element of the unknown is one of the major selling points of the merchandise."]

"Hmm, there's no way to determine the sculpture's effect beforehand. But the effect of a Chandelure definitely won't be the same as Snorlax's," Shauntal mused to herself, and without pondering too long, she decided to place an order!

That vintage aura, that peculiar antique craftsmanship should match her Chandelure quite perfectly! After all, Chandelure's design was modeled after a vintage chandelier!

Whenever she looked at Chandelure, her inspiration would flow continuously, and every night it would illuminate her books with its eerie ghost-flame. That wondrous atmosphere was precisely why she loved it so much.

"Speaking of which, the store carries ghost-cloth items, so has the shopkeeper ever considered making ghost-paper?"

An inspiration suddenly flashed through Shauntal's mind, and she began offering suggestions: "I'm a novelist who uses Ghost-type Pokémon. Whenever I write books, I have my ghostly companions circle around me so that my inspiration flows endlessly. But precisely because of that, my manuscript notes seem to have become a bit haunted—they tend to levitate mid-air..."

"Although this is a completely accidental occurrence, I feel that if it's a prop craftsman like you, perhaps..."

["Oh, thank you for the suggestion. That is indeed a great concept for crafting. If I create a haunted notebook, I will list it in the shop and notify you."]

"Yay, then I'll look forward to it! Also, next time, can you leave a few extra talismans for me? Just a few tucked away secretly would be fine, please!"

["No problem at all! After the sculpture is shipped, I'll pack a few extra talismans inside!"]

Meanwhile, Caitlin also opened her chat window, though she was making a different kind of inquiry.

"Have you ever considered crafting some unique new art pieces, such as rugs, wallpapers, scroll paintings, or tea sets...? I saw an item called a Glass Whistle; its design is lovely, but it would be even better if there were psychic-type glass products."

"I previously purchased a vintage-style Snorlax sculpture from your shop, which was given to me by my butler, and the effect has been simply wonderful."

["......Your suggestions are very interesting! I will take them into consideration. Thank you for your purchase and support."]

Caitlin smiled, her mood becoming considerably more pleasant.

It seemed she would be able to buy her favorite art pieces from this shop in the future. As for the shopkeeper's artistic standards, Caitlin had not a single worry.

The vintage style displayed on the Snorlax sculpture alone—no, rather, the ruin-like style—was already exceptionally unique, carrying a beauty born from antiquity.

There should be more, even more new ornaments... Her villa still had plenty of space left to house those items!