[Players may spend Points to expand and decorate their rooms. Furniture Shop unlocked.]
As if sensing Armin's confusion, the system panel helpfully displayed a prompt.
A shop interface followed immediately after.
[Basic Wooden Bed: 1 Point]
[Pikachu-Themed Bed: 5 Points]
[Cute Eevee Blanket: 5 Points]
…
[Room Expansion (Increase to 200㎡): 100 Points]
[Special Facility – Pokémon Paradise: 500 Points]
Armin stared at the list and suddenly felt like he'd been transmigrated into some knockoff mobile Pokémon game.
He didn't start decorating.
Instead, he sat cross-legged on the floor and pulled up Dragonite's stats.
Dragonite (Shiny)
Level: Lv. 58
Gender: ♂
Type: Dragon/Flying
Ability: Multiscale
Egg Moves: None
Moves: Wing Attack, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Twister, Thunder Wave, Hurricane, Agility, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush, Outrage, Hyper Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt
…
No wonder Mimikyu had been crushed in their first encounter.
This Dragonite's level was ridiculously high.
Armin closed the stat panel and opened his inventory.
He still remembered how Rento had pulled a Poké Ball out of thin air on the first day of the instance.
Now that the backpack feature had unlocked, he could store Poké Balls inside and summon them anytime.
Currently, four items sat in his inventory:
Two candies—one large, one small.
A twisted spoon.
And… a red heart.
…
EXP Candy (S): Grants a small amount of experience.
EXP Candy (M): Grants a large amount of experience.
Twisted Spoon: A mysterious spoon infused with psychic power. Boosts Psychic-type move power by 20% when held.
Mewtwo Affinity MAX (Bound): Special item. Exclusive to player Armin. Valid across all instances.
…
No further description?
Armin tapped the plump red heart.
Nothing happened.
It just sat there quietly.
Then a beginner guidance panel popped up.
[After leaving an instance, players remain in Infinite Space for 7 days of rest. Once time expires, they will automatically be transferred to the next instance.]
[Infinite Space contains Entertainment and Commercial Zones. Players may explore freely.]
[Pokémon World Entry Ticket: 999,999 Points. Please work hard to accumulate Points!]
Armin: …
Nine hundred ninety-nine thousand?!
He'd gotten a Double-S rating and only earned 200 Points.
At that rate, he'd need centuries.
And everything here cost Points—food, lodging, furniture.
This setting was clearly designed to break players mentally.
…
Since he wasn't planning to rest yet, Armin opened the map.
Sure enough—Entertainment Zone. Commercial Zone.
With a mere thought, he teleported.
The street was crowded.
Shops lined both sides.
Bars. Restaurants. Bathhouses.
Everything you'd expect in human society existed here.
The only difference—
Everyone had a Pokémon companion at their side.
Armin entered a small diner and ordered egg noodles.
The owner was a blonde woman with voluminous curls. Her partner was a Mr. Mime wearing an apron.
He sat by the second-floor window, watching Pokémon he'd never seen in person before roam the street below.
Soon, the owner personally brought over a steaming bowl.
But instead of leaving, she looked him over carefully.
"Newbie?"
Armin looked up. "What makes you say that?"
She smiled knowingly.
"I've seen a lot of people. Only newbies stare out the window like that."
He nodded. "Just cleared my first instance."
She smirked and tapped the bowl.
"Everything here costs Points. That bowl? One Point. You can also pay with items."
One bowl of noodles cost as much as a basic wooden bed.
Armin considered.
"Can I pay with EXP Candies?"
"Of course. Five small candies per bowl."
That wasn't bad.
Ever since seeing that 999,999 number, Armin had become extremely sensitive about Points.
He placed five small EXP Candies on the table.
The owner glanced at them and continued selling.
"Where are your Pokémon? We also serve Pokémon food. Two candies per portion."
"Then two portions."
He handed over two more candies and released Mimikyu and Dragonite.
The woman froze briefly.
Then she looked at him strangely.
"You're really a rookie?"
Armin smiled mysteriously.
"A rookie? Not exactly. Let's just say I don't play in the minor leagues."
She burst out laughing.
"Bad boy. Good thing I used to scroll social media a lot before I died, or I wouldn't get that reference."
She raised a brow flirtatiously.
"Come chat after you eat?"
"Absolutely not. I'm a respectable man," Armin declared righteously.
The woman: …
Veins popped on her forehead as she slapped the table.
Mr. Mime panicked and instantly erected a Light Screen in front of Armin.
"Kinsey, don't! Attacking players leads to penalties!" it cried in a childish voice.
Armin blinked.
"It speaks human language?"
Kinsey crossed her arms.
"Don't overthink it. It's not a real Pokémon. It's a Pokémon-shaped housekeeping robot from the Infinite Shop."
Armin's eyes lit up.
Kinsey immediately caught that look.
"Men are all the same," she snorted. "Housekeeping robot costs 999 Points."
"Oh."
Armin calculated silently.
That's just a few more instances.
If I cause enough chaos in the next ones, I'll have my own Gardevoir robot soon.
"Pervert!" Kinsey snapped. "There's reproductive isolation between species! Messing with Pokémon brings divine punishment!"
Armin stared at her.
"What are you even talking about? I just want a Gardevoir to chat with me and help manage my Pokémon."
Kinsey: …
She stared at him.
This guy's brain wiring is definitely not normal.
Dragonite, meanwhile, sat beside him eating happily, utterly unconcerned.
Mimikyu tilted its head.
Rookie?
Or monster?
Infinite Space would find out soon enough.