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After spending a night in Jubilife Village, Chris prepared to depart for Snowpoint Temple the following morning with Akari.
Although the Pearl and Diamond Clans had temporarily joined forces, it didn't mean the tensions between them had vanished—the two groups still maintained their distance from each other.
The Diamond Clan had already departed in haste the previous night, while the Pearl Clan would take a different route in the morning to check on one of their Noble Pokémon.
Therefore, Galaxy Team asked Akari to guide Chris to the temple.
"I've never been to Snowpoint Temple before!"
At the Wallflower, Akari—who had just learned she'd be traveling to Snowpoint Temple with Chris—didn't even bother finishing her meal. Instead, she was frantically studying a map.
Chris ate his rice ball at a leisurely pace, then reached out to pet Pikachu and Shaymin. The two little ones were also eating happily—there were specialized Pokémon rations available even in this era.
"Hmm?" Chris glanced at the rice ball in his hand. The seaweed wrap contained lean meat and salted egg yolk.
Was this the rice ball version of a meat and egg sandwich?
The first impression was quite pleasant.
Chris understood why Galaxy Team had sent Akari along with him. Having just joined the organization, Cyllene didn't fully trust him yet.
"Finish eating and pack your things afterward. You don't need to lead the way—I already know the route."
"Really?!" Akari's eyes lit up, but then she asked uncertainly, "Then... what do you need me for?"
"You can ask Captain Cyllene about that," Chris suggested.
"Let's just forget it." Akari hurriedly stuffed two rice balls into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a hamster's, then dashed out of the Wallflower to pack her belongings at home.
"Let's meet at the village entrance," Chris called after her.
"Okay!"
After finishing his milk, Chris stood and greeted Beni, the Wallflower's owner and one of Cyllene's trusted associates. "Thank you for the meal."
He then left the Wallflower and headed toward the village entrance while observing the buildings and pedestrians throughout Jubilife Village.
"Excuse me, what's this berry called?" Chris suddenly stopped when he spotted an unfamiliar fruit.
Because the essence of the Pokémon world was fundamentally a "game," designers often reused settings and items from previous generations in subsequent releases.
Even if the next generation was set two thousand years earlier on the timeline.
Chris could still see numerous berries in Jubilife Village that appeared identical to those from two thousand years in the future.
However, since this belonged to a different generation, there would inevitably be some newly introduced settings and items.
The yellow, dragon fruit-like berry Chris held in his hand was one he'd never encountered in any game or in reality, indicating it was likely a new berry type unique to this generation.
Of course, there was another possible explanation.
This berry species had gone extinct and only existed in the Hisui region two thousand years ago.
"That's called a Plump Bean. The juice is sweet, but just like alcohol, eating too many will make you tipsy." The woman selling the berries noticed Chris's Galaxy Team uniform and enthusiastically explained. "The Wallflower often uses them to make berry wine."
"Do any Pokémon particularly like eating this berry?" Chris continued his inquiry.
"Normally, no Pokémon show special preference for Plump Beans." The woman thought carefully before responding. "However, Pokémon like Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam are absolutely obsessed with them. Beauregard's family planted an entire Plump Bean grove, and when the harvest just ripened, they encountered a whole group of Abra and nearly lost everything."
The woman shared several amusing anecdotes about Plump Beans.
Chris listened attentively and confirmed that neither the name, taste, nor effects matched any berry in his memory.
As an experienced berry cultivator, he could state with certainty that berries like Plump Beans wouldn't exist in the future.
Plump Beans were definitely a berry species unique to the Hisui region of two thousand years past.
Perfect—he'd take some back to cultivate, gaining another ingredient for making Poffins.
"I'll take all the Plump Beans you have here." Chris paid with the mission funds Akari had collected from Galaxy Team headquarters that morning.
"Wonderful!" The woman smiled as she packaged the berries.
Taking the Plump Beans, Chris continued toward the village entrance. After turning the street corner, he discreetly transferred the berries into his inventory.
Stopping periodically, Chris thoroughly explored all of Jubilife Village.
When he arrived at the village entrance, Akari was already waiting with her Pikachu. Beside her stood a blond man carrying a large traveling pack.
"Over here!"
"Pika-pi!" Seeing Chris approach, Akari immediately waved enthusiastically alongside Pikachu.
Chris quickly walked over to greet them.
"Hello, my name is Volo. I'm a traveling merchant from the Ginkgo Guild." The blond man greeted Chris with a warm smile.
"Volo?" Chris felt a jolt of recognition. If he remembered correctly, Volo was the final antagonist in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
He and Giratina had jointly orchestrated the crisis in the Hisui region.
However, Volo's appearance didn't suggest villainy. On the contrary, he resembled an elegant nobleman, despite wearing only the standard Ginkgo Guild outfit.
"Do you know me?" Volo seemed puzzled by Chris's reaction.
"I don't know you personally, but I've heard of the Ginkgo Guild. I'm curious—did you bring anything valuable on this trip to Jubilife Village?" Chris asked casually.
"Of course." Volo smiled and politely produced a list, handing it to Chris.
"These are the products I've prepared for this visit to Jubilife Village, along with their corresponding prices. Please take a look."
Chris accepted the list, and a shop interface immediately materialized before him.
There were indeed many valuable items.
There was a specialized Poké Ball called a "Feather Ball" from this era—a ball that could fly rapidly through the air when thrown, useful for catching fast-flying Pokémon.
The treasure-grade evolutionary item "Shiny Stone."
Additionally, there were "Sword Dance Radishes"—consuming one would temporarily boost a Pokémon's attack power, making it appear as though the Pokémon had activated Swords Dance.
Chris had read in various historical texts that the origins of the Swords Dance move traced back to certain Pokémon eating too many Sword Dance Radishes and subsequently mastering the technique.
Of course, this claim had never been verified.
After all, Sword Dance Radishes were recorded as an extinct plant in Chris's original world.
He'd never imagined they were actually plants from the Hisui era.
Unfortunately, he was a bit short on funds at the moment. He wouldn't have another opportunity to purchase them before leaving the Hisui era.
"Your products are all excellent, but there's nothing I need right now." Chris returned the list.
"I see. That's truly unfortunate." Volo accepted the list with a smile, showing no disappointment that the sale hadn't gone through.
"Well then, we'll be on our way. We need to get moving."
"I look forward to meeting you again."