From the side, another voice cut in, amused and lazy. "Tch. Look at you, Larry. Didn't even have to jump through the usual hoops." Ging Freecss said from the side, arms crossed with a crooked grin on his face.
Larry blinked, processing the weight of the announcement and Ging's sudden appearance. He leaned back in his chair, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Hah… Three-Star, huh? Guess I'll need a new apron."
Then, tilting his head slightly, voice nonchalant but clearly curious, he added, "So, Ging… you got any spare Greed Island consoles lying around?" A twinkle flickered in his eyes. "Been kind of interested in that game lately."
They were in Menchi's shop. After curing Linne yesterday, Larry and Menchi had returned here to rest. He intended to spend a bit of time with her, but simply sitting around was starting to feel dull. That's when it hit him, there was still one special place he hadn't explored yet, Greed Island.
The legendary game, designed by Ging and his companions, wasn't your average virtual world. It was a real location disguised as a game, accessible only through Aura-infused consoles that transported players into the actual island using the spell card "Start."
It was perfect for Larry and Menchi to dive in together. Even more tempting was the possibility that this digital world might contain Pokémon, especially ones tied to tech, data, or cyberspace.
The only problem? These game consoles were rare collectibles now, mostly owned by the ultra-rich, like Battera. Larry didn't feel like chasing one down.
Instead, he decided to go straight to the source, Ging. After everything they'd been through together, it wasn't too out of line to ask.
"Greed Island? Yeah, I've got a few spares," Ging replied over the phone, sounding nonchalant. "I usually keep backups for things like this."
Typical Ging. Always one step ahead, always ready for whatever might happen. "Nice. So, where are you? I'll swing by," Larry offered, eyes gleaming. He'd figured Ging would have extras.
"No need for all that," Ging said, after a brief pause. "You've got a screen over there, right? A TV or even just a phone should do."
Larry raised an eyebrow, glancing at the television in Menchi's living room. "There's a screen, yeah. Why?"
Ging chuckled. "Good. Then I'll see you in a bit. Oh, and I'll introduce you to a friend."
Before Larry could ask what he meant, Ging hung up. Larry stared at the blank, dark screen in front of him.
The TV wasn't even turned on, just reflecting the faint outline of the room behind him. Ging had asked if he had a screen. And now he mentioned introducing a friend?
Larry's eyes narrowed slightly as a name popped into his mind, someone who might not even be considered a "person" in the traditional sense. He had only appeared briefly during the Chairman Election arc, yet managed to rise into the top eight candidates. A man of few words. No speeches, no grandstanding. Just a written message on a screen.
Ickshonpe Katocha.
A Single-Star Hacker Hunter, known for living almost entirely within the digital realm. He communicated only through typed words and treated reality itself as if it were a badly coded simulation. From what little Larry had gathered, the man loathed the real world, and preferred the structured, manipulable logic of data.
During the eighth round of voting, he'd even spoken to Ging in strange, game-like terms, offering to trade the "White Spear of Glory" for the "Holy Golden Flag."
It wasn't clear whether he was joking, reminiscing, or speaking in code, but it made one thing certain. He knew Ging. He'd even mentioned game-related stuff during the election. It all clicked into place.
Ging wasn't just sending Larry the console. He was sending it through him.
"What did Ging say?" Menchi asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity. Ever since Larry ended the call, he'd gone quiet, just staring at the TV screen like it was about to grow legs and walk away.
She wasn't worried, though. In her eyes, there was nothing Larry couldn't do. If he wanted Greed Island, he'd get Greed Island.
"If I'm right," Larry said slowly, "I think I'm about to go inside that TV." He pointed at the screen, tone calm but thoughtful.
Menchi looked confused. The TV wasn't even on. It was just a black screen reflecting a bit of light from the room. "Go into the TV? There's nothing there, though, "
Before she could finish, the screen suddenly lit up. Not with a picture, not with a signal, but with an intense white light, so bright it washed out everything else. It wasn't the normal brightness of a TV turned on. It looked...wrong. Supernatural.
Larry's eyes narrowed. Yup. Just as he thought. Ging and Ickshonpe were definitely on the other side.
"I'll head over, don't worry about me."
After giving Menchi a few quick instructions, Larry stood in front of the TV. The moment he got close, the screen, as if recognizing his presence, suddenly pulled at him with a powerful suction force.
In the blink of an eye, Larry vanished right before Menchi's eyes, as if swallowed by the television, and reappeared in a digital realm.
"Did he actually go into the TV…?"
Menchi's delicate face lit up with surprise as she gasped in disbelief.
When Larry opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a pure white void. There were no walls, no floor, no ceiling, just endless, empty white stretching in every direction. In front of him stood two familiar figures: Ging, and someone he had never seen before, someone bizarre.
"Yo! Pretty quick, huh?" Ging greeted him casually, as if they hadn't just bridged dimensions.
Larry gave a nod, clearly impressed. "Yeah. That was fast."
Honestly, from the moment they ended the phone call to now, barely a minute had passed. Ging's delivery speed could put any courier service on Earth to shame.
"Tch. Ging, you glory-hogging bastard," the other figure suddenly complained. "You know that was my doing."
This odd being had a strange, almost robotic tone to his voice. It was stiff, fragmented, as if not meant for human speech.
Maybe it made sense, after all, he wasn't exactly human. Due to his existence as a resident of the computer world, normal speech didn't come naturally to him. Normally, he communicated through handwritten notes or text boards.
"Hahaha, don't take it so seriously," Ging said with a laugh. "Let me introduce you, this is a friend of mine, and one of the original developers of Greed Island. His name's Ickshonpe Katocha. Just call him 'Old P.'"
Larry studied Ickshonpe with interest. His design was... abstract, to say the least. He looked like a parody of Mickey Mouse crossed with the exaggerated expressions of a gag manga character. He had big, round ears like Mickey, and wild, rubbery facial expressions. His forehead bore a "Pi" mark, which clearly explained Ging's nickname for him, Lao P.
"Nice to meet you, Ickshonpe," Larry greeted calmly, ignoring Ging's goofy nickname.