Paradise Pokeball System

Vol 2 Chapter 90: The Heart of the Sanctuary

"Landon? Is that you, dear?"

The voice was like a warm blanket. I opened my eyes up to see Nurse Joy stepping out onto the porch of the Pokémon Center. In Prisma, she wasn't the overworked, repetitive face from the you were used to seeing at the local Poke-Center; she was a woman of immense grace and maturity. Her pink hair was tied back in a ponytail, rather than the double loop signature style, but her eyes held a depth of affection that was reserved only for me.

She descended the steps, her gaze sweeping over me with practiced ease, checking for injuries before she even reached me. When she finally did, she stepped straight into my arms, her head resting against my chest. She smelled like clean linen, antiseptic, and a hint of lavender.

"You look exhausted," she murmured, her hands sliding up to my shoulders to knead the knots of tension there. "You’ve been pushing your body to the limit again, haven't you? I can feel the residual strain from whatever energy you tapped into last battle. I was worried about how far you were going to take it."

"I did want to, Joy. He threatened our family, and I let this echo of Necrozma take control willingly. I could have stopped at any time, but I just did want to," I admitted, closing my eyes and resting my head against hers. “I don’t know if I can let the girls fight with me, but I don’t know if I have the right to refuse them. I just can’t lose any of you.”

"Well, Giovanni isn't here right now," she said firmly, pulling back just enough to look me in the eye. "Here, you are the Architect of a budding paradise, and I am your Chief Medical Officer. And my first order is for you to breathe. I’ve prepared the restorative tea you are going to like, and the special healing springs in Knighty’s Habitat are at the perfect temperature. You need to wash the soot of that world off your skin."

That world. Such a strange, but simple term that meant so much. Prisma wasn’t just a few Habitats any more. It was almost like the ultimate expression of paradise. Each person got to do what they wanted with no requirements other than to get along with me and each other. I might be out there fighting with my life on the line for them to have this, but I would do it the same every time.

So, hearing Joy talk about what most would consider the real world and just another plane warmed me. I was excited to see if we could work on the special tickets to be able to let people like Anabel, Looker, and Emma a chance to come and visit Prisma without being caught. That could help people understand that I wasn’t a bad person, just a guy playing the hand dealt.

"I'll be there soon, Joy," I promised, kissing her forehead. "I just want to see how everyone else is doing first. I can feel that the city has expanded from the last time I came in."

"It’s growing because you’re growing, Landon. That and the trio of miscreants you caught have set up some very interesting shops," she said with a soft smile. "Don't take too long. You know how Jolene gets when she knows you're back."

I laughed, the thought of the "thirsty" mother of the Paldean champion already making my head spin. "I’ll be careful."

I closed my eyes, and felt the world shift around me before I reopened them to tall sleek nameless buildings and stores. I looked up at the center of this sprawling metropolis habitat at the skyscraper that dwarfed everything around it by over 100 stories. 

I would have to check on Iono after, but for now I walked toward the city center, the scale of what we had built hit me all over again. This wasn't just some 3km forest, or lake side; it was a living, breathing society.

Well, breathing was hardly right, considering how every place in sight was empty. The city was a ghost town from my current perspective, but that was about to change as I turned the corner to see three smiling faces standing outside of their respective stores.

Soliera, Zossy, and Dulse—the members of the Ultra Squad— rushed over to each give me a hug, even Zossy, which kind of blew me away, but the big shock came from seeing them not wear their specialized equipment for Ultra Space travel. I smiled and returned each hug, but gave Zossy a strange look after.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked, and her eyes narrowed, making me put up my hands. “Hey! I am only asking because I am used to you making that face at me most of the time! I am just curious to know if you are ill, or is the system really that manipulative?”

I probably could have dodged the kick she planted into my shin, but the howling and cursing that came after she nearly broke her toe made it worth it.

“I am not sick, you jerk!” She growled, but then looked away up into the sky at the sun that was visible all across Prisma, picking at the white and pink dress she was wearing. “I am just happy here.”

Soliera can over and pulled Zossy into her ample chest that her own red and white dress barely contained. The younger girl struggled a bit, but gave up quickly, leaning into the older woman.

“What she means is that we love our new lives here in the light, and getting to wear all these fabulous clothes Dulse creates!” Soliera laughed, and turned to the man in question, giving him a thumbs up.

“Nice work! I am going to have to get you to fit me into something nice later,” I laughed, and then added, “if you have anything in my size.”

Dulse scoffed at me. Almost gaffawed at me! This schmuck! But man, did he have taste! 

Dulse stepped forward, adjusting his cuffs with a rhythmic, practiced flick of his wrists. He looked less like the grim, mission-focused soldier from Ultra Megalopolis and more like a man who had finally found his true calling in the fabric of paradise.

He was wearing a slate-grey, double-breasted suit that was so perfectly tailored it looked like it had been painted onto his lanky frame. The material had a subtle, matte finish, but the lapels were faced with a shimmering, silver-blue silk that mimicked the glow of an Ultra Wormhole. Underneath, he wore a high-collared black shirt, fastened not with buttons, but with small, glowing prisms that pulsed softly. His pocket square was a daring splash of iridescent violet, folded with a precision that bordered on the obsessive.

I couldn't help but grin, my bare feet silent on the cold, polished floor as I looked him up and down.

"You know, Dulse," I started, a bit of a chuckle in my voice. "If you told me back when we first met—when you were all 'cold logic' and 'mission-critical' silence—that you’d end up as Prisma’s premiere fashion mogul, I would’ve checked your system for a virus. You’ve gone from being a guy who barely showed a pulse to a man who’s worried about the thread count of a pocket square. The change is... well, it’s a lot."

Dulse didn't flinch; instead, he allowed a rare, sophisticated smirk to cross his face. He adjusted his glasses, the light from the shop catching the frames.

"Logic dictates that if one is to live in a paradise, one should look the part, Landon," Dulse replied, his voice still direct but carrying a new, vibrant warmth. "Besides, analyzing the structural integrity of a battle suit isn't that different from perfecting the silhouette of a waistcoat. It’s all about the details. And I find... I find the creative process here far more fulfilling than chasing shadows in the dark."

He turned on a heel, his coat tail snapping perfectly with the motion. "But I didn't bring you here to discuss my personal growth. I brought you here because the Architect of this wonderful world shouldn't be wandering around in whatever he managed to scavenge."

He led me past the rows of floating mannequins and high-end displays to the very back of the store. He placed a hand on a seamless obsidian panel, and a heavy, hidden door slid open with a pressurized hiss.

"I’ve designed this entire back area specifically for you, Landon," Dulse said, stepping aside to let me pass. "It’s a private wing, shielded from the noise of the city and synchronized with your biometric data. It’s where I keep my most experimental work—pieces designed to handle the energy you channel. I thought you deserved a place that was as much a sanctuary as the habitats you build for the girls."

I stepped inside, finding a sprawling, luxurious lounge filled with racks of clothing that looked like they belonged in a hero’s wardrobe. There were comfortable chairs, a private bar, and somehow a panoramic view of the city center that only I could access.

"Dulse," I said, looking around the space. "This is incredible. You really went all out."

"Consider it a thank you," he said, smoothing his jacket. "For giving me a world where I didn't have to keep my interests a secret anymore and allowing me to truly enjoy real light. Now, let’s see about getting you into something that actually fits the man who’s saving the world."