[Ding!]
[Host has triggered SS-rank Special Mission: Turmoil in the Ghost World!]
[Mission Description: The Ghost World's protective barrier is weakening. A crisis from deep within the Ghost World is about to sweep across the world, and its influence has already begun seeping into reality.]
[Mission Requirements (Optional):]
[Option One: "Solo Path": Rapidly enhance your own strength to suppress or stop the turmoil with absolute power when it erupts.]
[Option Two: "Mutual Aid": Guide and strengthen the "Ghost World Lineage" (Ghost-type Pokémon and their Trainers) to become a force that resists the turmoil.]
[Note: Different choices will lead to different mission rewards and effects.]
[Ghost World Turmoil Eruption Countdown: 16 days 23 hours 59 minutes...]
The dark red text hung in front of Kairos's eyes for several seconds before fading.
"Ghost World... turmoil?" Kairos stared at the notification, his brow furrowed.
He knew about the Ghost World. After all, Gengar had escaped from that place, and Chandelure had come from there too.
From what he understood, the Ghost World was where Ghost-type Pokémon lived. He'd looked into it online and found it described as a resting place for souls that the living could barely reach. It supposedly maintained a delicate balance with the real world, but solid information beyond that was hard to come by.
Earth-shattering changes... it couldn't just be referring to this, could it?
Kairos glanced at the strange weather outside his window.
Gengar's odd behavior, Cerulean City's unusual gloomy weather, these were probably all signs of energy from the Ghost World leaking out.
As a powerful Ghost-type Pokémon from the Ghost World, Gengar was naturally sensitive to changes there. No wonder it was acting this way.
But then again...
"SS-rank..."
Kairos clicked his tongue.
This ranking meant the incoming trouble was serious.
The mission gave him two choices: become strong enough to handle it himself, or strengthen the Ghost World Lineage.
Different choices meant different rewards...
"Ghost World Lineage..."
He'd never heard that term before.
Though he could guess it might refer to a group of Trainers or people within the Ghost World somehow connected to the coming crisis.
This sudden high-level mission had disrupted his previously relaxed mood from the generous rewards.
He needed to think through his next moves carefully.
---
While Kairos mulled over the mission, trouble was brewing elsewhere.
Deep within Mt. Chimney in the Hoenn region, Team Magma's secret base was carved into volcanic rock walls. The air was scorching and oppressive, thick with the scent of sulfur and metal.
A churning pool of molten lava at the base's lower level bathed the entire space in dark crimson.
Maxie stood before a massive wall of monitoring screens. They were playing a shocking video on repeat.
It was the key scene from Emerald where Groudon and Kyogre battled near Sootopolis City, an earth-shattering clash finally stopped by Rayquaza.
Maxie stared at Groudon's towering form in the footage. Each of the creature's steps expanded the land. His eyes burned with fanatical intensity.
"Such... such power!" he muttered, his body trembling with excitement. "The God of the Land... this is what the God of the Land should be! Expanding the land, creating Team Magma's ideal paradise!"
The scene shifted to Rayquaza descending from the heavens. Its finishing blow subdued both Groudon and Kyogre at once.
Maxie's expression instantly darkened. Fanaticism gave way to frustration and rage.
"That thing again, just who is it?"
This clearly wasn't the first time he'd watched this scene. He slammed his fist onto the nearby control panel with a dull thud.
Just then, the encrypted communicator on his wrist vibrated.
Maxie glanced at the caller ID. His expression soured further, but he pressed accept.
Archie's gruff voice came through, equally displeased. "Maxie! Did you see that scene?!"
"Obviously. You think I'm slower than you?"
Maxie responded coldly.
"Damn, I just want to smash something right now."
Archie's voice was heated.
"That Kyogre! That's the Ocean God our Team Aqua has been chasing! And yet... it got beaten like a child by that green thing... Damn it! Who made this game anyway?! Why set it up like this?!"
A brief silence followed.
These two men had spent half their lives fighting each other over completely opposite goals. Now they felt a strange kinship over their shared failure and humiliation in the game.
"Either way, it knows... more than we imagined."
Maxie's voice lowered, carrying a trace of excitement.
"Not only does it know about Groudon and Kyogre, it even knows our original plans, crystal clear."
"So what?!" Archie roared. "It showed us! It proved that legendary Pokémon power can be controlled and used! Sure, we failed in the game, but that's a game! It's fake! In reality, why can't we succeed?!"
Maxie's eyes lit up.
"Wait, what are you getting at?"
"I'm saying we were idiots!"
Archie scoffed.
"In the game, we only thought about controlling Groudon or Kyogre, letting them fight to the death with winner takes all. But what really decided the outcome was that green thing, what was it called again, Rayquaza!"
"Rayquaza," Maxie corrected. "But you're not wrong. Looking at it now, our previous thinking was too narrow. Why must we focus only on having land cover the ocean or ocean swallow the land? I think we could work together. Just once."
"Work together?"
Archie's voice filled with suspicion and wariness.
Maxie had always been full of schemes, who knew what he was plotting this time.
"Yes! Temporary cooperation."
Maxie spoke rapidly. "Team Magma and Team Aqua find and control that strongest green Legendary Pokémon together. We use its power to command both Groudon and Kyogre!"
"That way they'll all serve us! And then..."
Maxie's voice rose with excitement. "Both land and ocean will bow before us! As for whether there's more land or more ocean in the end, once we've got absolute power, the two of us can hash that out. How about it?"
"Better than getting slapped down by that Rayquaza in the end, right?"
Archie fell silent.
He stared at Rayquaza's majestic frozen form on screen. Various emotions churned in his eyes.
Instinctive rejection of Maxie's proposal. Desire for Rayquaza's power. Obsession with controlling Kyogre. Weighing cooperation.
Faced with this temptation, he couldn't hold out.
"Fine... then... let's cooperate this once."
"But given your track record, if you want to work together, you'd better show me some real commitment!"
---
Meanwhile, deep beneath Viridian City in the Kanto region, Team Rocket's secret base hummed with activity.
Giovanni sat in a large leather chair. One hand stroked the sleek fur of Persian curled on his lap. The other operated the mouse before him.
On the screen was the same scene from Emerald, the three gods' battle.
Giovanni's gaze didn't linger long on Groudon or Kyogre. His eyes locked firmly on Rayquaza, descending from the heavens to stop both gods with absolute power.
The scene ended and the screen darkened, reflecting Giovanni's unreadable face.
"Rayquaza... Groudon... Kyogre..."
He murmured these names.
So... such beings exist in this world.
Giovanni's voice carried barely concealed excitement.
This was different from what he'd felt upon learning of Mewtwo's birth recently. That had been satisfaction over creating the "ultimate weapon."
But this was something else, the thrill of discovering how vast the world truly was, and how much powerful force waited to be harnessed.
Power... so much power...
His eyes gleamed with fanatical light.
If Team Rocket could master even one of them, no, even just obtain a fraction of one's power, wouldn't all of Kanto, no, the entire world, fall easily under his control?
Giovanni quickly pulled himself from his excited state.
Because this game... this game called Emerald knew too much!
It not only knew about these Legendary Pokémon far away in Hoenn, but also their powers, their possible locations, and even scenarios of humans attempting to use them, all shown so realistically!
So then... what about Mewtwo?
The more Giovanni thought, the more uneasy he felt. Persian seemed to sense its master's emotional shift and softly meowed.
Team Rocket's ultimate weapon, Mewtwo, had been born secretly after exhausting all their resources and sacrificing countless test subjects.
Might its existence already be exposed within this game's story?
As the game's plot progressed, would information about Mewtwo also be displayed to players worldwide, just like those so-called Hoenn trio?
This thought sent a surge of intense unease through Giovanni.
Those League people, if they learned of Mewtwo's existence...
For his current situation, the consequences would be unthinkable.
No... Mewtwo absolutely cannot be exposed.
A cold gleam flashed in Giovanni's eyes as he made his decision.
Control and training of Mewtwo must be accelerated!
He had to make sure it fully awakened its power and came under complete control before information leaked!
He immediately picked up the encrypted communicator and connected to a number.
"It's me."
Giovanni's voice was ice-cold.
"Starting today, the Mewtwo project's priority is elevated to maximum. All resources will be directed toward it. I want to see it reach its theoretical complete form as soon as possible!"
"Mental control module testing will proceed ahead of schedule. If necessary, increase stimulation intensity."
A man's hesitant voice came through. "Sir, this... isn't it too rushed? Mewtwo's mental state is still very unstable. Forcibly accelerating and increasing stimulation carries extremely high risk and could lead to..."
"Risk be damned!"
Giovanni cut him off roughly, his tone sharp.
"Do as I say! Mewtwo is a weapon to strike at the League right now, not some artwork that needs careful nurturing. Get that straight."
He put down the communicator and leaned back in his chair. His fingers unconsciously tapped the armrest.
On screen, the scene had ended, but Rayquaza's soaring form seemed to still flash before his eyes.
Looking at it this way...
Team Rocket's conquest had only just begun.
---
The next morning, atop Mt. Coronet in the Sinnoh region, golden light pierced through the clouds.
Cynthia wore comfortable loungewear, her golden hair casually draped over her shoulders. She sat before her streaming equipment by the window, cradling a steaming cup of coffee.
She took a deep breath of fresh air and gazed at the scenery outside, feeling pretty good.
To avoid Emerald's upcoming content causing a worldwide sensation and tipping off Team Rocket, she'd temporarily closed her stream.
Looking at it now, that decision was the right call. Emerald's plot content was far more intense than she'd expected, with quite a bit about Team Rocket too.
Now it didn't matter anymore.
Many players had already finished the game, this news was beyond containment.
Moreover, during the time she'd closed her stream, online discussions about Emerald, especially about the three gods' battle scene, had completely exploded.
Various recorded videos, analysis posts, and players' amazed reactions flooded everywhere.
Many players mentioned that experiencing the three gods' battle in-game felt completely different from watching recorded videos online. The immersive shock was far more intense.
Perhaps it was the game's design, only when playing yourself would you truly feel as if you stood between towering waves and erupting lava, sensing the legendary Pokémon's world-destroying pressure.
This unique experience drew countless new players to Emerald, while veteran players grew even more enthusiastic.
Something rather surprising had happened last night.
When she'd completed a section of the Rescue Team plot and exited the game to rest, the Pokémon: Emerald icon suddenly displayed an update announcement:
["Pokémon: Emerald"Version Update Announcement]
[Update Completion Time: Tomorrow morning 7:00 AM]
[Update Content: Game Second Playthrough officially unlocked!]
[Description: Players who have successfully completed the story (defeated the Elite Four and Champion to become the new Hoenn League Champion) may continue your journey and explore the Hoenn region's deeper secrets and challenges!]
[Enjoy your game!]
Second playthrough?
She'd thought that after defeating Steven and reaching the Champion's throne, this game's main story had wrapped up.
She'd even felt somewhat regretful then, because her exploration of this world wasn't enough to satisfy her.
But as it turned out, the game had more content...
This discovery made her change her mind.
The Rescue Team plot was certainly quite interesting, but with Emerald's newly unlocked content, she should play this first.
She glanced at the time: 7:01 AM.
Perfect. Time to log on.