Entering the hall, Cynthia looked at the male character on screen wearing a punk-style jacket with sharp eyes. Her gaze narrowed slightly.
This should be the first Elite Four member...
Something felt familiar about him. This person seemed to be... Sidney?
Yes, it should be him.
In the real-world Sinnoh, she'd heard of this Hoenn Elite Four member famous for his wild and unrestrained Dark-type specialty.
It shouldn't be too difficult, right? After all, he's only the first one. With that thought, she took a deep breath, selected Victini as her lead Pokémon, and pressed the confirm challenge button.
However, the next moment, the screen suddenly went dark and a glaring red game notification popped up:
[Warning! Mythical Pokémon (Victini) detected! According to special League regulations, this battle is considered invalid! Challenge terminated!]
Cynthia froze. She stared at that line for several seconds before it registered. There was actually this kind of restriction?
Elite Four challenges didn't allow Mythical Pokémon?
Somewhat amused and exasperated, she could only have her character open the PC terminal and temporarily deposit the battle-ready Victini.
Fine. Now she only had five main fighters left.
She walked back toward the entrance to Sidney's chamber.
However, the two expressionless guard NPCs at the door raised their hands to stop her again. A new system notification appeared:
[Detected: Player's team has fewer than 6 Pokémon and not all meet current level requirements (Lv. 60+). Cannot challenge Elite Four!]
Cynthia froze again. Fewer than six?
So now she needed to train another Pokémon to full level.
Who should she choose?
Cynthia's fingertips unconsciously tapped the keyboard. She reassessed her team. Sceptile was Grass-type, Ludicolo was Water and Grass, Rotom was Electric and Ghost, Pelipper was Water and Flying, Wobbuffet was Psychic.
The team's core was actually a rain team, with Ludicolo and Pelipper as the key members.
She needed a powerful physical attacker who could also cover type weaknesses, especially Ground-type...
A blue, solid, reliable figure suddenly flashed through her mind: Swampert!
Water and Ground-type! Perfect for a rain team. Water-type attacks gained boosted power in rain, and Ground-type provided immunity to Electric attacks while offering the widely effective, high-powered Earthquake move.
More importantly... a Swampert Mega Stone she'd obtained by chance was still sitting quietly in her bag!
That's it!
So her new training target was locked in: Mudkip!
Now, where could she find a Mudkip?
Cynthia wasn't as familiar with wild Pokémon distribution in the Hoenn region as she was with Sinnoh, and naturally even less so in the game.
Throughout her entire journey, she didn't think she'd ever encountered any starter Pokémon in the wild.
After thinking it over, she opened the game's forum.
The official developers seemed to have noticed this forum's existence. Now players could even access the forum directly through an in-game portal.
The forum remained lively as ever. With the growing player base, forum activity had increased correspondingly.
Cynthia quickly browsed, trying to find information about Mudkip habitats. Under a thread discussing Water-type Pokémon catches, she spotted a help post with few replies:
[Newbie question: Is Swampert worth training? Where can I catch Mudkip?]
Cynthia casually opened the reply box and typed: "Swampert is definitely worth raising, especially paired with a rain team.
Excellent physical attack and durability, plus the possibility of Mega Evolution. As for Mudkip, I remember it's in..." Just as she sent that portion, she paused.
Wait, wasn't she also here looking for Mudkip's location? How did she end up teaching someone else?
Just as she hesitated, a system notification popped up: [Player "Plate of Earth" (Online) has requested to add you as a friend.]
Plate of Earth? That's an odd name.
Cynthia clicked accept.
The friend request barely went through before a private message popped up: "Hello, saw your reply under that thread. Are you also interested in Swampert?"
Cynthia replied: "Yes. Want to catch one to complete my team for the Elite Four challenge. Do you know where Mudkip can be fished?"
The other person fell silent for a moment before the message came back: "Route 111, near the desert edge at that small pond.
Use a Good Rod. The rate isn't great, requires some patience." The information was precise.
"Thanks!" Cynthia noted the location. Route 111, pond near the desert edge...
She was about to close the window when another message arrived from the other person:
"By the way, you mentioned 'Mega Evolution' earlier... what is that? I don't think I've heard of it."
Cynthia was somewhat surprised.
This "Plate of Earth" person knew Mudkip's location and seemed like a veteran player, yet didn't know about Mega Evolution?
She explained: "It's a special form of evolution.
Requires the Pokémon to hold a corresponding Mega Stone and be activated by the Trainer during battle. Both appearance and abilities receive massive boosts after evolution, though it only lasts until the battle ends. Very powerful."
"Oh? Special evolution? Massive power boost?" The person seemed very interested. "Where can these Mega Stones... be obtained?"
Cynthia thought back: "I got mine in Rustboro City.
There's a small house on the east side of the city with a man who looks very sad inside. He says his daughter went missing.
If you donate money to him and reach a certain amount, he'll give you a random Mega Stone as thanks." She shared her experience obtaining her first Mega Stone.
"Though you need to have a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution in your party to trigger the corresponding reward."
"I see. Rustboro City... donation..." The other person repeated it, seemingly noting the information.
"Thank you very much for the intel, this helps a lot. Hope you catch that Mudkip soon and successfully challenge the Elite Four." The message included a friendly emoji.
"Thanks for the location info too." Cynthia replied. The two added each other as forum friends, their icons lighting up in each other's friend lists.
Cynthia closed the chat window and immediately had her character use Fly, heading toward Route 111.
She needed to hurry and fish for that Mudkip.
Meanwhile, in Team Rocket's secret base in the Kanto region, inside a dimly lit room filled with various complex instrument screens, a middle-aged man wearing a finely tailored dark suit with an immaculately slicked-back hairstyle slowly leaned back in his wide leather chair.
On the massive screen before him displayed the just-concluded chat log: information about Mega Evolution and how to obtain Mega Stones, provided by that player whose name appeared as a string of garbled characters.
He was none other than Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni.
His sharp gaze swept across the keywords on screen: "special evolution," "massive power boost," "Rustboro City donation." He appeared thoughtful.
Mega Evolution... a never-before-heard technology that could instantly boost a Pokémon's power? And it apparently required a specific item called a "Mega Stone" to activate?
A barely perceptible smile curved Giovanni's lips.
This was too interesting. If this power was real, then... it would become yet another trump card for Team Rocket's domination of Kanto, even the entire world!
Rustboro City... He immediately recalled Team Rocket's sphere of influence distribution map in the Hoenn region.
Good. They had a secret contact point there.
He'd send a few people to investigate this situation.
If something like this existed in the real world too, then no matter the cost, he had to master this power called "Mega Evolution"!
But speaking of which...
His gaze fell on the screen.
This person... able to provide so much information about the game, must be quite an accomplished player.
Such talent... was there any possibility of recruiting them?
He pressed a button on his communicator.
Moments later, a sharp-eyed female subordinate in a Team Rocket uniform quickly entered and stood respectfully before the desk.
Giovanni didn't look at her, his gaze still fixed on the screen.
"Investigate this forum ID. Find out who's behind it." Giovanni's voice was low.
"Yes, sir." The subordinate immediately responded, quickly pulling out a portable terminal to work.
The base's interior lighting was somewhat dim, only the screen's glow illuminating her focused face.
Time passed second by second. Giovanni waited patiently, saying nothing.
"Sir, found it." The subordinate's voice carried a barely noticeable tension. She turned the terminal screen toward Giovanni, displaying a brief data correlation report.
"Based on speech pattern analysis across multiple public forums, IP node tracking, and cross-referencing with... ahem, residual traces from certain non-public network activities within the Sinnoh League... the target player's real identity, that is, this forum player's identity, points to... the current Champion of the Sinnoh region, Cynthia."
Giovanni's perpetually calm face froze.
His body leaned forward slightly, sharp eyes locked onto the name on screen and the official photo of Cynthia beside it.
Wait, what?
Who???
The air seemed to freeze for several seconds.
The crucial intel he'd just obtained about that Mega Evolution capable of instantly boosting Pokémon power... the source was actually the Sinnoh Champion?
Cynthia?
He'd randomly found someone on the forum and ended up asking her??
An extremely absurd feeling welled up in Giovanni, leaving him momentarily unsure how to react.
"...Cynthia?" Giovanni repeated the name, his tone full of disbelief.
He suddenly leaned back against his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling the situation had completely exceeded his expectations.
The Sinnoh Champion... had actually provided Team Rocket with the key to a power they'd dreamed of?
This kind of thing clearly had even Giovanni losing his composure.
He waved his hand, signaling the subordinate could leave, and remained alone staring at the screen, sinking into deeper contemplation.
---
Meanwhile, at the Mt. Coronet villa.
Cynthia had no idea who she'd just encountered.
She controlled her character "Strawberry Ice Cream," following the location information "Plate of Earth" had provided, arriving at the small pond near the desert edge on Route 111.
The clear water surface reflected blue skies and white clouds, forming a stark contrast with the yellow sand storm scenery not far away.
She had her character equip the Good Rod and cast into the water.
Time passed bit by bit. The bobber sank several times, but what came up were only Magikarp or Tentacool.
Cynthia wasn't anxious though, patiently casting and reeling repeatedly.
Finally, after the bobber shook violently once, her character yanked hard!
The screen shook, and the battle interface opened!
A blue-skinned Pokémon with a head fin and somewhat dopey-looking eyes appeared in the battle frame: a Mudkip!
Cynthia's lips curved slightly upward as she easily captured it with a prepared Great Ball.
Perfect. Objective achieved.
She was about to leave for a training spot when her gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous crevice in the rock wall behind the pond.
Behind that crevice... seemed to be a cave?
Driven by curiosity, she had her character use Surf to cross the pond and walked inside.
The cave interior was dimly lit, only the sound of water dripping from stalactites. The passage was narrow and winding.
After walking a short distance, the view suddenly opened into a small cavern filled with glowing crystals.
At the cavern's center stood a figure, quiet and still.
It was a Pokémon she'd never seen before.
Its entire body was silvery white with a slender form. A long tail swayed gently behind it, and purple eyes deep as starry skies gazed out. Its entire being radiated an indescribable coldness and power.
Cynthia's heart skipped a beat. She could clearly feel that just looking at it through the screen, an oppressive force from the depths of her soul came crashing over her!
The feeling it gave her was far more powerful than the Regirock she'd encountered in the desert temple!
Even... carrying an aura that transcended ordinary Legendaries!!!
Cynthia's character moved forward one step, trying to see more clearly.
Just then, that silvery-white Pokémon tilted its head slightly, and its purple eyes seemed to pierce through the screen, precisely "looking" at Cynthia.
Buzzzz!
The screen was instantly flooded with blinding white light!
When the glow faded, Cynthia was shocked to discover her character had been teleported back to the pond at the cave entrance.
Everything that just happened was so fast it felt like an illusion, leaving her no time to react.
That Pokémon... what did it do? With just a glance, it forcibly teleported her out?
Cynthia remained stunned for quite a while before recovering.
After thinking it over, she again controlled her character toward the cave entrance.
However this time, the moment her character approached the rock wall crevice, another flash of white light appeared without warning! She was teleported back to her original position again!
This time she didn't even get to see the cavern interior again, let alone that mysterious Pokémon.
After brief astonishment, Cynthia instead calmed down.
She realized this was definitely not a bug, but some kind of... conditional restriction.
To enter the cavern, her current strength wasn't enough, or she needed to fulfill some prerequisite condition?
Clearly insufficient to explore that cavern, much less contact that unbelievably powerful Pokémon.
She glanced at the newly captured Mudkip in her bag.
The immediate priority was still to improve her strength and challenge the League.
She abandoned the idea of continuing to try, had her character use Fly, and returned to the vicinity of Victory Road's entrance.
The wild Pokémon here were high-level, making it a good grinding spot.
She equipped Mudkip with an Exp. Share and began the tedious but necessary grinding journey.
---
On another front, in the Paldea region.
Iono sat before her computer screen, looking quite pleased with herself.
Earlier in Pokémon Dark Phantom, after some "hard-fought" battles, she'd successfully captured the Legendary Pokémon Entei!
Okay, it wasn't really hard-fought battles. More like a beatdown.
But that wasn't important.
What mattered was that the game had just updated, and she could log back on!
Her lips curved upward slightly.
Experiencing a Legendary Pokémon for the first time... here I come!