Dispatching residents to gather food resources would take five hours, while constructing the barracks would only take two.
While waiting, Caleb asked Meowth, the butler, about the specifics of the event, and Meowth answered everything one by one.
As Caleb listened, he flipped through the map shrouded in thick fog...
He was currently located halfway up Glazed Volcano. In a war involving only humans, this kind of location would be extremely easy to defend and hard to attack.
But this game was different. The presence of Pokémon with all kinds of extraordinary abilities added far too many unpredictable elements to battles.
Pokémon here referred not only to the player's own Pokémon... They also included Pokémon soldiers recruited through the barracks.
Players needed to combine their strengths, using sound tactics and command to attack other players' territories.
Once one side captured the opponent's Lord's Hall, the defeated side would be eliminated. That was the rule of this Chaos Era Domination game.
Caleb released Mewtwo and the others from their Poké Balls...
According to Meowth, the player's Pokémon acted as generals. Each one could lead a Pokémon squad into battle and, based on their attributes and personalities, provide buffs to their subordinate Pokémon army.
This was something Caleb hadn't noticed before. He opened Mewtwo's personal interface, and sure enough, saw the relevant information:
[Mewtwo (General): Increases the power of Psychic-type moves for subordinate Pokémon by 50%...]
"Fifty percent…" Caleb instantly imagined forming a Psychic-type army.
He turned to look at the other Pokémon:
[Dragonite (General): Increases the power of Dragon-type moves for subordinate Pokémon by 25%...]
[Lucario (General): Due to his calm demeanor, the movement speed and agility of subordinate Pokémon is significantly increased...]
[Mimikyu (General): When facing Pokémon larger than herself, subordinate Pokémon gain a 20% boost to all move types and increased speed, making it easier to dodge enemy attacks...]
[Hydreigon (General): Due to its ferocious nature, its subordinate Pokémon can enter a berserk state. In berserk mode, Special Attack, Physical Attack, and Speed are greatly increased, but Physical Defense and Special Defense are significantly reduced. This effect has a 24-hour cooldown...]
[Celebi (General): This all-healing Forest Guardian greatly enhances the effectiveness of subordinate Pokémon's healing moves...]
It had to be said, these buffs were quite comprehensive. Healing, speed, berserk, power…
The only thing Caleb didn't yet know was what types of Pokémon soldiers could be recruited from the barracks. He thought it over and decided to wait until the barracks were built before worrying about that.
"As for now…"
He opened the accompanying Lord Panel:
«Caleb Chase»
- Territory Level: 1 (Initial level. Upgrading requires certain resources. After upgrading, facility level caps can be unlocked.)
- Lord Reputation: 0 (A nobody in the Chaos Era Domination world. Work hard to raise your reputation to attract more residents to your territory!)
- Exclusive Skill: Friend Out of Thin Air
«Friend Out of Thin Air: City Lord exclusive skill, 'I Have a Friend'. Upon use, it randomly summons a Pokémon World NPC with whom the player has had prior interaction to provide assistance...
- Duration: 24 hours.
- Cooldown: 24 hours.
- Note: Only effective during this event...»
Caleb's gaze lingered on it for two seconds.
Although this skill didn't seem very useful at the initial stage, he still wanted to try summoning someone. The reason was simple... he missed the people from that world.
He wondered how Lily was doing, whether the remnants of Team Rocket had been dealt with, and what the weather was like in Celestic Town lately.
"Come to think of it, I haven't returned to that world in a long time..." Caleb took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions surging in his heart, then activated the skill.
The next second, a deep blue light burst forth, forming a two-meter-tall dimensional rift in front of him. Soon, a blurry figure emerged from the depths and slowly walked out..
Long hair, tall figure…
'Is it Cynthia?' Caleb's heart suddenly tensed.
To be honest, Cynthia was the person he had the deepest connection with in that world. Three years during the Transformation and Substitution Instance, plus the few weeks after that... saying he didn't want to see her would be a lie.
Caleb could clearly feel that both Grandma and Cynthia had already treated him like family. They had always treated him as one of their own.
As an orphan, familial affection was something he had always longed for, so he cherished it deeply. He wanted to protect them.
It was with this belief that he had proactively joined forces with the Sinnoh League to completely eradicate Team Galactic from the Sinnoh region.
Caleb rarely lost focus, but in this moment of distraction, the figure finally stepped out of the rift... Only, the person who emerged wasn't blonde, but red-haired.
It was Lorelei.
Caleb: "…"
Maybe the disappointment on his face was too obvious, because Lorelei noticed it immediately. She raised an elegant eyebrow, took a step back, and asked, "Should I not have come?"
Caleb adjusted his emotions and returned to normal, saying, "No, you're very welcome!"
Lorelei feigned suspicion and said, "Really? I don't believe you."
Caleb: "…"
It had to be said, Lorelei was good at lightening the mood. Seeing Caleb's speechless expression, she chuckled softly, then turned to look around and asked curiously, "Is this the world you live in?"
Caleb shook his head and had Meowth bring over a wooden stool for Lorelei, saying, "No, the situation here is a bit special. I can't really explain it."
As he spoke, he rummaged through the bottom of his inventory for drinks he had prepared for guests.
Lorelei didn't respond immediately to his explanation. Caleb thought she didn't believe him and was about to say something, when Lorelei suddenly let out a gasp...
Caleb stopped searching and looked up in confusion.
Then he saw Lorelei's shocked expression. Her gaze was fixed on Mewtwo, and she exclaimed in disbelief, "Is that Mewtwo?!"
On the other side, Mewtwo, who had been surveying the terrain, turned his head upon hearing his name. Seeing an unfamiliar woman, he silently looked toward Caleb.
"A friend," Caleb said to Mewtwo via telepathic communication using the Viridian Power, then spoke aloud to Lorelei, "Yes, that's Mewtwo. You're familiar with this Pokémon?"
'Does this mean that they successfully created Mewtwo in that world?' Caleb wondered.
Lorelei nodded and said, "Professor Kukui from the Alola region discovered a previously unknown Pokémon over there, and that Pokémon's name is said to be Mewtwo."
'Alola region… That's where Amber is resting.'