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After learning this truth, Iono felt somewhat dazed for a moment, feeling like everything seemed a bit unreal...
So without her knowing, she had actually discussed game strategies with Cynthia again!
Last night, when Cynthia called to notify her about the game reward details, she felt a little excited in her heart.
After all, no matter how you put it, even though Iono was a major streamer, she was just a Gym Leader of an Electric-type gym in a small place like the Paldea region.
Whether in terms of status, position, or strength, compared to Cynthia, who was a Champion-level trainer, it was naturally like comparing stars to the sun - they simply weren't from the same world.
But now she not only had Cynthia as a friend in the game, they'd also chatted about game strategies on the forum and shared with each other, and they'd even talked on the phone...
And all of this was because of the game "Emerald"!
If it weren't for this game, she probably would have had a hard time connecting with Cynthia.
However, the important point right now didn't seem to be this.
The current question was: why would her game storyline be different from Cynthia's?
As soon as this thought emerged, Iono suddenly remembered another important matter.
Back when she was talking with Cynthia on the forum, the other party had asked her a question - whether she had seen an item called the "Rusted Sword" in the list at that room near Fallarbor Town where you exchange volcanic ash.
And according to her memory, she indeed had never encountered such a thing.
Conversely, Cynthia also apparently hadn't witnessed the appearance of the so-called Ultra Wormhole near that small house like she had, nor had she seen Zeraora emerge from the Ultra Wormhole...
That being the case...
Iono reached out and touched her chin, seeming to understand something.
So the events that each game player encountered in the game storyline weren't completely the same?
From a main story perspective, everyone seemed to have no differences - challenging gyms to obtain badges, constantly encountering other trainers and NPC passersby initiating battles, nurturing and making their teams stronger...
But regarding some branching storylines, the situations indeed seemed completely different. Whether it was the sword that Cynthia had mentioned before, or the storyline about Zeraora, or even the Pokémon that appeared in this Fiery Path cave, just from the differences between the two of them, this point was already clear.
So... were these differences random?
Or did you need to meet certain special conditions to trigger the storyline on Cynthia's side?
While pondering, Iono made a decision - she should go back to Mauville City first to take a look.
According to Cynthia, to encounter Zeraora, you had to trigger the power plant malfunction event.
But when she had just arrived in Mauville City, it seemed like the town's electrical status was fine, with no abnormalities whatsoever.
Wouldn't that mean such an event wouldn't happen at all?
Sure enough, when Iono returned to Mauville Gym, she didn't see Wattson standing at the gym entrance looking around, nor were there any abnormalities in the town.
This time, she was certain that her side's game storyline regarding Zeraora was probably completely different from Cynthia's...
That being the case, wouldn't she have no way to see Zeraora again for the time being??
After discovering this fact, to say she wasn't disappointed would definitely be impossible.
After all this time, Iono had been thinking about that special Electric-type Pokémon.
But soon Iono cheered up. Since each player's storyline situations were different, maybe she'd still encounter Zeraora through other opportunities in the future!
After all, before Cynthia encountered the power plant malfunction and witnessed Zeraora's battle, she hadn't seen Zeraora emerge from an Ultra Wormhole like she had.
This meant that her side's game storyline was like being in a different "timeline."
Thinking of this, she opened her friends list to take a look and found that the account named "Strawberry Ice Cream" was indeed online.
So she directly sent a message to Cynthia in the game, sharing the situation she had currently discovered.
And what she didn't expect was that Cynthia's reply came very quickly.
[Strawberry Ice Cream: You're right, I've noticed this too. Each player's main storyline is pretty much the same, but there might be differences in some side quests.]
[I didn't expect that what's hidden in Fiery Path in your game would actually be a legendary Pokémon like Moltres... I'm sorry.]
[However, I think the power plant malfunction might be part of the fixed main storyline, just delayed on your side.]
Seeing this, Iono couldn't help but nod.
It had to be said... There really was such a possibility.
It's just...
She started typing.
[But if that's the case, if the power plant malfunction and Zeraora's battle are really delayed... I haven't found that Pokémon called Victini, so how would I be able to help him?]
From the discussion in the live chat just now, she had already understood what the original power plant malfunction storyline would roughly be like.
A battle between two legendary Pokémon - if there was no help from Victini, Iono really didn't know what she should do when this storyline happened in the future.
However, she soon received Cynthia's reply.
[I don't think you need to worry too much about this.]
[Since I triggered the power plant malfunction event after encountering Victini in Fiery Path, perhaps you need to defeat Moltres first before the same situation occurs in Mauville City.]
Looking at this reply on her computer screen, Iono couldn't help but freeze completely.
In her mind, she couldn't help but recall everything she had just witnessed in Fiery Path.
The dazzling flames, the crimson heat waves... that figure radiating with powerful presence.
De... defeat Moltres??
Wasn't that a legendary Pokémon??
However, the next moment, Iono suddenly came to her senses.
Wait!
This was completely different from ordinary legendary Pokémon - this was in a game!
According to the hints in the game, this Moltres was only just over level 70.
And her team's level had already reached level 40, with the level cap directly raised to as high as level 60...
Didn't this mean... that someday in the future, the Pokémon in her team could really reach the same level of strength as that Moltres in the game?
Even... defeat it fair and square.
Or even... capture it?!
Iono's heart suddenly started pounding wildly!
If Cynthia had such an intense reaction before the legendary Pokémon appeared, then needless to say about Iono.
Before encountering this game, "Pokémon Emerald," she had never even thought about things like legendary Pokémon.
In this regard, Iono really wasn't much different from other people.
But now she suddenly realized that she actually had a chance to capture these legendary Pokémon - that was a completely different concept altogether.
And among these legendary Pokémon, there were definitely many Electric-types, right?
For instance, in the forum message content that Cynthia had sent her, it seemed to mention that the other Pokémon in the power plant also appeared to be Electric-type!
For a Pokémon trainer who specialized in Electric-types, what could be more exciting than hearing about something like this?
However, Iono soon realized a new problem -
According to Cynthia, if it were simply that her encounter with Zeraora and the triggering of the power plant malfunction storyline were delayed, that would actually be manageable.
After all, by the time she could defeat that legendary Pokémon called Moltres, she should also be able to directly use her team's power in battle to help Zeraora defeat that other guy.
But the problem was if the power plant storyline didn't happen as she speculated, but appeared ahead of schedule...
At that time, if her team hadn't reached the level where they could participate in battles between legendary Pokémon,
What means would she use to help Zeraora?
According to Cynthia's description, originally, Zeraora couldn't beat that other legendary Pokémon.
Iono couldn't help but start getting a headache.
The good news was that Cynthia, on the other end, also seemed to realize this point.
[However, if that power plant malfunction storyline happens ahead of schedule, you indeed won't have a way to help Zeraora at that time... after all, you might not be able to find Victini like I did.]
[But regarding this point, I also have an idea. Remember the Gracidea flower I mentioned before? That kind of flower seems to have extremely strong effects for healing Pokémon's injuries and restoring their stamina.]
[As long as you can get the petals of this flower, even if the power plant storyline appears ahead of schedule, relying on the Gracidea flower, you can still heal Zeraora's injuries and let him defeat Regieleki.]
[Next, I should encounter some places suitable for planting Gracidea flowers. Once I successfully grow them, I'll tell you immediately. Before then, you should go to the flower bed to the left of Mauville City and see if you can get seeds for this flower - consider it preparing ahead of time.]
Looking at this string of messages before her, Iono couldn't help but nod repeatedly and immediately sent a reply message.
[Alright, thanks, Cynthia!]
If the situation were really as Cynthia said, then this matter naturally wouldn't be such a big problem.
She just needed to get those Gracidea flower seeds next and wait quietly for good news from Cynthia.
But if the power plant storyline appeared ahead of schedule before she got this flower, then there really would be no solution.
However, according to Iono's estimation, this game probably wouldn't be so insane as to do that, right?
Perhaps it was precisely because Cynthia obtained Victini that she triggered that power plant storyline ahead of schedule.
Otherwise, she really couldn't think of how an ordinary player at this stage could participate in a battle between two legendary Pokémon.
As Iono pondered, Cynthia's reply message had already arrived.
[You're welcome. If there's any information about Ultra Wormholes, please remember to share it with me immediately.]
[Besides that, I now need to find another thing... a "Beautiful Thing." If you see any items related to these words, please contact me as well.]
Beautiful Thing?
What was that used for?
Although she was a bit confused about what this thing actually was, Iono still firmly memorized it and immediately gave her reply.
[Okay, no problem!]
At the same time, the chat in the livestream also began scrolling and refreshing like crazy.
[The streamer's really made it now, getting so close with Cynthia already.]
[Yeah, these two are already so close. Praise the game - games really are the great ladder connecting social interactions.]
[But speaking of which, why do I feel like ever since leaving Petalburg Woods, everyone's game storylines and processes have been a bit different? Could it be that everyone's storyline is different?]
[You asking me? I don't know jack! I'm still stuck in Petalburg Woods and can't get out. Who the heck arranged so many Bug Catchers in the forest? My Treecko's about to get chewed into a sieve!]
[Guy above, that's what happens when you don't choose Torchic as your starter. Not everyone's as skilled as Cynthia, haha...]
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
After sending the in-game message to Iono, Cynthia arrived at the beach on the right side of Mauville City.
After dealing with several Water-type trainers blocking the way, she used Pelipper's newly learned Surf to cross the water surface and successfully reached the opposite shore.
The good news was that during the brief moment of touching the water surface, she didn't encounter Gyarados again like before, which truly made Cynthia breathe a slight sigh of relief after reaching shore.
However, the chat in the livestream seemed somewhat disappointed.
[Where's Gyarados?? It's broad daylight - did Dragon Bro go to sleep?]
[Hahahaha, I thought the streamer would encounter Gyarados every time she got near water. Turns out it only happens when fishing.]
[Do you understand what a conceptual fishing rod is? Newbies always get Gyarados on their first cast - wow, the spawn rate is really high!]
...
After coming ashore from the right side of Mauville City's waterway, light drizzle began gradually falling from the sky, and an extremely dense patch of tall grass appeared directly in front of Cynthia. This seemed to be a terrain unique to this area.
According to Cynthia's experience, walking through these grass patches should also result in encounters with wild Pokémon.
She thought for a moment and decided not to use items like Repel first - at least she wanted to understand what types of Pokémon would spawn in grass like this.
However, just as her character was about to step into that dense grass patch, a figure suddenly rushed out from the grass and blocked her path!
When Cynthia saw the appearance of that figure clearly... she couldn't help but freeze completely.
That looked like... a Bewear??
This Bewear looked completely ordinary, almost identical to her own, nearly making Cynthia think her Bewear had secretly run out.
While pondering, Cynthia's character suddenly stopped.
Because Bewear had directly extended one paw and blocked her path!
And in its other paw, it was... holding a photograph.
In the photograph...
It looked like a Meowth, and a man and woman...?
Cynthia was bewildered.
So what exactly was this situation?
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