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After some exploration,
Cynthia successfully used her previous experience with the game's mechanics to defeat numerous blocking NPCs and finally reached Gym Leader Juan.
And for this Ice-type gym, Victini had been itching for action.
As the battle music started, the Victory Pokémon unleashed overwhelming power.
Juan's carefully trained Walrein, Froslass, and Glalie found their Ice typing hopelessly outmatched against Victini's powerful offensive capabilities and durability.
Flames flashed one after another, super effective notifications popping up repeatedly.
The battle ended even faster than Cynthia had anticipated. As the final gym, Juan didn't even force her into a second round of challenges.
Another clean sweep!
With cheerful victory music playing, Juan offered his praise tinged with helplessness, presenting her with the final badge (the Rain Badge) and the HM for Waterfall.
After leaving the gym, Cynthia glanced at the map and quickly navigated her character using Surf to reach the entrance to Victory Road.
A massive waterfall stretched before her, its currents fierce, white mist drifting everywhere.
This was the final obstacle to Victory Road.
Cynthia had Ludicolo use the newly learned Waterfall. A pale blue glow surrounded the Carefree Pokémon as it immediately carried her into the rushing cascade.
The violent, turbulent water seemed tamed by an invisible force before it, forming climbable steps.
Just like that, she ascended steadily to the waterfall's summit, step by step.
Standing at the top, strong winds whipped at her character's clothing.
Before her loomed the entrance to a deep, dark cavern. Above the entrance, ancient and solemn text was carved: Victory Road.
Gazing at this entrance that symbolized the starting point of a Trainer's ultimate challenge, Cynthia felt a wave of emotion.
In this moment, she felt transported back years ago to when she first stood before the gates of the Sinnoh League, about to begin her own Champion challenge.
That mix of excitement, nervousness, anticipation for the unknown challenges ahead, and yearning for the pinnacle of what a Trainer could achieve... it was remarkably similar to what she felt now.
At this point, she realized she felt somewhat reluctant.
This game that had brought her countless moments of shock and surprise, that had even revealed so many secrets behind the world's surface, seemed to be approaching its end.
No matter how she looked at it, after challenging the League and becoming Champion, the game's content would probably be finished, right?
She could only hope that once it ended, she'd receive answers to all her questions.
She took a deep breath, then firmly pressed the forward key.
Her on-screen character stepped into the dark cavern leading to the summit.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
In a certain bizarre space.
This was a world without sunlight. The air was thick like black ink, permeated with the scent of stale earth and a chilling coldness.
The sky was completely black, devoid of sun or moon, with only occasional drifting wisps of distorted gray-white fog.
The earth was cracked and barren, utterly lifeless, showing only dead trees stretching out withered branches like grasping phantom claws.
In the air, clusters of will-o'-wisps flickered erratically, their restless light illuminating the jagged rocks on the ground.
This was a strange space that existed outside reality, belonging to Ghost-type Pokémon.
The Ghost World.
At this moment, a man wearing a deep gray, antiquely styled robe walked slowly along a path.
He seemed long accustomed to the deathly silence and cold here.
But today, something felt off. He kept looking around.
As if something was about to happen...
The air seemed even thicker.
The drifting will-o'-wisps grew more agitated, accelerating their movement, their ghostly light flickering more urgently, as if influenced by some invisible force.
Even the ground beneath his feet trembled continuously, imperceptibly. None of this seemed normal.
The man quickened his pace, passing through a bizarre archway formed from massive, pale bones, arriving at the most core and most forbidden location of this Ghost World region.
Here appeared to be an altar of sorts.
Behind the altar, a massive circular abyss stretched down endlessly. Only freezing dark winds spiraled up from below, creating low, howling sounds.
At the center of the abyss floated a huge black stone platform covered in ancient runes.
At the platform's center rested a massive stone coffin.
This coffin had existed for untold ages.
Its entire body was cast from some kind of strange black stone material, its surface covered in indecipherable, eerie patterns, radiating an oppressive aura that weighed on one's very soul.
The coffin's lid was exceptionally thick, with nine arm-thick red nails driven into it, each one also covered in runes.
As if to seal something firmly within this stone coffin.
At this moment, the man stood beside the coffin, quietly observing it, seemingly sensing for something.
One minute passed.
Ten minutes passed.
He watched for a long time, trying to detect any sign of abnormality.
Yet no matter how he observed, the coffin simply lay there quietly, completely motionless.
Finally, after who knows how long, the man breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly turned to leave.
But just as he departed, vanishing into the dark shadows...
Near the edge of the coffin lid, one of the nine sealing nails (the one whose head bore twisted serpentine patterns) moved ever so slightly.
Then everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened at all.
---
Cerulean City, Kanto Region.
Looking at the familiar room layout before him, Kairos couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Finally back. The air over there really didn't smell great. This is much more comfortable.
Now that he was home again, Kairos's tense nerves could finally relax somewhat.
He instinctively glanced around. Chandelure still wasn't in the room; she'd probably gone off to play somewhere again.
Kairos shook his head, pulling his attention back to the biggest problem at hand.
The Genesis Engine countdown flashed constantly on his system panel: twenty-one days.
That was real-world time, meaning he needed to find a solution within two weeks in the real world, then return to solve that world's problems.
He quickly organized his thoughts.
His current core objectives were twofold: first, improve his own strength so that the next time he went to that world, he'd be sufficiently equipped to face those future species, ancient species, and Alliance members. He'd probably need to reach at least Champion level.
Second, find items containing powerful life energy to substitute for that lost Key and prevent the Genesis Engine's activation.
For improving strength, Rare Candies were undoubtedly the fastest and most direct option.
Rare Candies could directly boost experience, while the Master Ball item's effect would double all experience gained by his Pokémon.
But Kairos frowned slightly.
The Rare Candies marked as [Restricted] sitting in his system inventory were like a visible but untouchable pile of gold to him.
These candies could only be distributed to players; his own Pokémon couldn't use them.
The only time he'd obtained unrestricted candies was after completing that system quest and receiving the gift box.
This was a bit troublesome.
System quests...
He instinctively checked his quest panel.
But just then, a series of rapid system notifications suddenly rang out in his mind!
[Ding! Detected large amounts of high-intensity emotional fluctuations (shock, fear, awe, ecstasy). Source: individuals from alternate world (Watcher organization members, Alliance soldiers, General Quinn). Calculating emotion points...]
[Calculation complete! Total emotion points gained from this event: 2,273 points!]
[Ding! Current world (ID: 002) cumulative emotion points exceeded 11,000!]
[Dimensional Communicator (bound to World 002) function unlocked!]
[Notice: Host may activate Dimensional Communicator at any time to travel to the next world!]
Kairos paused, then immediately understood.
Of course.
The battle he'd just experienced at the Watcher base, especially Ho-Oh's appearance, had obviously been explosive enough for both the Watchers and Alliance members.
Their emotions, friend and foe alike, had naturally all been converted into points.
Over two thousand points, added to his previous accumulation... he now had 50,000 points total.
However, being able to use the Dimensional Communicator to connect to a new world...
That could wait.
His exploration of World 2 had already reached 80%. Only the final 20% remained before he could unlock special worlds through targeted selection at 100%.
Now definitely wasn't the time.
His gaze fell on the quest panel.
[Main Quest: Legendary Foundation (SS)]
[Quest Requirements:
1. Achieve over 10 million paid downloads for any single game you've created in a single world.
2. Unlock and use at least one "Advanced Production Module" to create a new game, and achieve at least 5 million sales for that game!]
[Quest Rewards: 10,000 emotion points, "Seed of the World" fragment x1, Random Legendary-tier Production Module x1]
"Seed of the World" fragment...
Kairos suddenly realized that just from the name alone, this thing sounded like it might contain that so-called life energy!
Maybe this thing could actually substitute for the Genesis Engine's Key?
He pulled up the sales data for Pokémon Emerald from the system panel. As of this moment, paid downloads had reached 9.2 million!
Only a little more until the first requirement's 10 million.
Conservatively estimated, it would be complete within two days.
The second requirement... unlock and use an Advanced Production Module...
In that instant, Kairos suddenly remembered something.
Hadn't the system rewarded him with an advanced module when he completed a prerequisite main quest before?
He immediately began searching through the depths of the system interface.
Sure enough! A module icon glowing with pale golden light sat quietly in a corner.
[S-Rank Special Production Module: PWS - Parallel World Server]
[Description: Activating this module allows games you create to be loaded via virtual projection onto any intelligent lifeform (human) individuals in other worlds you've visited, making them your players.]
[Additional Effect: Emotion points obtained through the PWS module are increased to 200% of base value during calculation.]
Kairos slapped his forehead.
After crossing into World 2, things had been so hectic that he'd completely forgotten about this treasure!
With this, who cared about the Alliance?
He could directly install the game into every person's mind in that world.
No matter how powerful that Alliance was, they couldn't control what was inside ordinary people's heads, right?
Well... if it was that world, maybe it wasn't entirely impossible.
But that aside, the only regret about this module was that loading targets were limited to humans.
This meant that Legendary Pokémon like Rayquaza, or other Pokémon, couldn't become his players for now.
Still, having this module was already a massive breakthrough!
He carefully read through the module description, his brow furrowing slightly again. This PWS module had one critical limitation.
It could only be used in "other worlds" and couldn't affect the current "primary world."
This was probably one reason he'd subconsciously overlooked it before.
So the path forward was clear.
To complete the quest, he still needed to unlock a new "Advanced Production Module" that could be used in the primary world and integrate it into the next game: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team.
Then, within three weeks, get Rescue Team to sell 5 million copies in the primary world!
But would there be enough time?
Kairos quickly calculated.
Emerald had gone from release to nearly 10 million downloads in just about ten days.
Three weeks should theoretically be more than enough.
But the prerequisite was that Rescue Team itself had to be as compelling as Emerald.
He sat down at his desk and turned on his computer monitor.
Who knew what those people at Dream Factory had managed to create based on the game concept he'd given them...
---
Meanwhile, atop Mt. Coronet.
Cynthia took a deep breath, her fingertips steady on the keyboard.
On screen, her character "Strawberry Ice Cream" stood before the magnificent and sacred hall entrance of the Hoenn League Champion's chamber.
Behind her lay Victory Road, which she'd just struggled through (that long trial path filled with powerful wild Pokémon and elite Trainers that required ample supplies to traverse).
She'd spent nearly all the money she'd accumulated in the game buying various recovery items before finally making it through that massive maze.
At this moment, her team was neatly arranged in the status bar:
Victini: Lv. 75
Sceptile: Lv. 74
Ludicolo: Lv. 74
Rotom: Lv. 75
Pelipper: Lv. 73
Besides these five Pokémon that had accompanied her from the start, there was one more.
After defeating the Sootopolis Gym, the egg had finally hatched, and what emerged was actually a little Wynaut!
She'd deliberately brought this Wynaut along to grind experience in Victory Road, and it had now reached Level 70.
Scanning across these six team members, Cynthia felt a surge of confidence.
These Pokémon's movesets and type coverage were all well-balanced. The rain team core of Ludicolo and Pelipper were both present.
It was time to meet the Hoenn Elite Four!
So then, her first opponent.
She guided her character forward, stepping onto the first long staircase before her!
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