"Just go back to sleep." Caleb twitched his lips and recalled the annoying Smeargle into his Poké Ball...
At that moment, Cynthia returned from the crowd holding two ice cream cones. She handed one to Caleb and said, "Let's go in. Though you might not meet the age requirement to catch Pokémon..."
The League stipulated that only trainers aged ten or older could capture Pokémon, similar to how one had to be eighteen to enter an internet café in the 'real' world.
Caleb was aware of this. He had only come to the Safari Zone to check it off his list and see if it would increase his Instance exploration progress.
Cynthia also had no intention of catching new Pokémon, so the two strolled leisurely through the Safari Zone.
Caleb had planned to bask in the sun for a while, but a frantic notification abruptly shattered his plans:
[Large-Scale Emergency Event "Lake Guardians" Triggered! All players near Lake Valor, please provide immediate support!]
[Phase 1 Quest: Defend the Lake Island!]
[Players will earn points for defeating Team Galactic members. The player with the highest points will receive
[Phase 2 Quest: Unlocks after completing Phase 1!]
Caleb froze...
He switched his panel to the map, where a flashing red marker appeared in the upper right corner, the location of Lake Valor.
Noticing Caleb had stopped walking, Cynthia turned back. Seeing him staring blankly at the air, she immediately understood and asked, "Another task? Do you need my help this time?"
"Yeah." Caleb nodded, "Team Galactic is preparing to attack Lake Valor. I need to stop them."
Cynthia frowned... She had read the myths and legends about Lake Valor and knew it was the dwelling place of the legendary Pokémon Uxie.
Realization dawned on her, "Team Galactic is targeting Uxie?"
Caleb hummed in agreement and pulled Dragonite's Poké Ball from 'thin air'.
He looked up at Cynthia and asked, "It might be dangerous. Are you coming?"
"Of course." Cynthia enlarged Garchomp's Poké Ball, and with a flash of white light, Garchomp appeared beside Dragonite.
The moment she spoke, Caleb received a party notification:
[Special Character "Cynthia" has joined your party! As a teammate, all points she earns will be counted toward your total!]
Caleb was stunned, 'This was allowed?!'
"Do you know the location? Let's go!" Cynthia mounted Garchomp and turned to him.
"Right." Caleb snapped out of it, calmly closing the party panel before climbing onto Dragonite's back.
He couldn't help but wonder what expressions would the other players make when they saw Cynthia?
Dragonite and Garchomp soared swiftly over the Safari Zone, one after the other. In the blink of an eye, they arrived above Lake Valor.
By now, the lake was already surrounded by a dense crowd. Caleb glanced down at the island at the lake's center, where over a hundred players had gathered...
Among them were men, women, elderly, children, and even Pokémon that looked suspiciously human-like. It was clear that those Pokémon were players who had been transformed.
Caleb used Scout on them and found most were around Lv. 50... It seemed they had been working hard, battling wild Pokémon to level up.
"Are those people from the same place as you?" Cynthia gazed at the crowd below and asked.
Caleb didn't dare answer, only staring at her wide-eyed. He felt like he was dancing on the edge of danger... one wrong move, and he might just vanish.
Seeing his expression, Cynthia instantly understood and tactfully changed the subject, "Should we join them?"
"Yeah. We need to defend this island and stop Team Galactic from landing," Caleb confirmed.
So the two descended on Dragonite and Garchomp, landing on the lake's central island.
The players immediately recognized Cynthia by her signature golden hair and Garchomp.
Gasps erupted like waves:
"Yoh! Am I seeing things? Is that Cynthia?!"
"What's going on? Who's the kid next to her? Isn't this a player-exclusive event?"
"Waaah! It's Cynthia! My waifu! I never thought I'd see her in person!"
...
As expected, Cynthia's popularity was sky-high...
Caleb's lips twitched in exasperation.
Cynthia overheard the chatter, mentally noting the terms 'players' and 'quest'.
She turned to Caleb and asked, "They seem to know me? Am I... famous among your people?"
Caleb nodded. After a pause, he added, "A lot of people really like you."
A thoughtful look crossed Cynthia's face. "Then... what did they mean by 'Rule 34 Cynthia'?"
Caleb: 'I plead ignorance...'
Thankfully, Cynthia didn't press further, otherwise, he'd have no idea how to explain that.
The defense event hadn't started yet. Caleb passed the time by playing patty-cake with Dragonite, while nearby, players kept trying to approach Cynthia, only to be blocked by Garchomp.
None of them dared say much. Accidentally leaking information about the Infinite World would land them in a high-difficulty penalty Scenario.
Rumors said that since the Infinite World's inception, fewer than ten players had ever survived a penalty Scenario. That alone spoke volumes about their brutality.
Just as the players were exchanging intel on the island, the sky abruptly darkened...
Everyone looked up to see a massive airship hovering over Lake Valor, blotting out the sun entirely.
A panel notification popped up:
[Defense Quest Begins!]
[First Wave of Team Galactic Members Invading! Defeat Them!]
The moment the prompt vanished, Snowy Form Castform drifted down from the airship. Beams of icy light shot from their mouths, freezing the entire surface of Lake Valor in an instant.
Then, countless rope ladders unfurled from the airship, and figures in matching uniforms slid down onto the ice.
They hurled Poké Balls into the air, and with a dazzling array of white flashes, an army of Pokémon materialized before them.
Caleb stood, Dragonite at his side, surveying the swarm of Croagunk, Drapion, Skuntank, and Crobat.
Cynthia gave Garchomp a nod...
The next second, Garchomp shot into the sky like a fighter jet.
In that instant, the heavens burned crimson.
Streaks of draconic fire streaked across the horizon as massive meteor-like boulders of pure Dragon energy exploded like fireworks above everyone's heads.
*BOOOM!*
That was... Draco Meteor!