Who had brought him into this world? The question gnawed at him constantly, refusing to fade.
But the system notification wasn't finished:
[Detecting player 'Dragon-Types Are Supreme' exceptional achievement (second player to clear the first playthrough), special achievement reward now triggered!]
[Achievement Reward: Streaming function unlocked. Share your adventure with trainers around the world!]
[When your stream's real-time viewer count first exceeds 500,000, you will receive an additional mysterious achievement gift pack!]
Streaming?
Lance immediately furrowed his brow.
He was naturally reserved and composed. He preferred working behind the scenes. Even his public appearances were mostly official Champion duties, and at meetings he said just enough to get by.
Now they wanted him to play games on camera and chat with a bunch of strangers?
It went against everything he believed in.
His first instinct was to decline.
But then he saw the words mysterious achievement gift pack. He hesitated.
The early game rewards had already been generous. This gift pack would surely be just as valuable.
Could he really pass that up?
For the chance to gain crucial power or intelligence, to grow stronger faster and handle real-world threats like Ultra Wormholes...
Lance paused only a few seconds before deciding.
He took a deep breath, as if accepting a special mission.
Following the on-screen prompts, he activated the streaming function on his computer.
He set a simple stream title: [Kanto Champion Lance, Emerald Second Playthrough].
Then he turned on the webcam, letting his face appear in a small corner of the screen.
At first, the viewership was sparse.
But the impact of the title "Kanto Champion Lance" was immediate.
A few players who clicked by mistake initially doubted what they were seeing. When the screen clearly showed that familiar yet tense face, the chat instantly erupted.
Comments poured in like a breaking dam:
[???]
[Lance? Which Lance?]
[Holy crap! It's really Lance?!]
[Am I dreaming? Lance is streaming Pokémon?!]
[The title says Lance… clicked in and… holy crap, is it really him?!]
[Oh my god! Kanto's dragon master? Never thought I'd see this!]
[Lance plays Emerald too, and he beat it? When did this happen?]
[Wait! The system said the second person to clear it was 'Dragon-Types Are Supreme'… so that was you? No wonder it was so fast!]
[Even Champions use usernames like that? I'm dying!]
[Dragon-Types Are Supreme? That's so you, Lance!]
Lance watched the comments fill the screen like a waterfall. He felt more pressure than commanding ten intense battles at once.
He tried to keep his usual Champion composure, but his slightly stiff expression and wandering gaze gave away his discomfort.
"Ahem… hello, everyone."
He cleared his throat. His voice was dry and stiff, almost as if reading from a script:
"I am Lance. Now… I'm about to begin Emerald's second playthrough content."
The overly formal opening and obvious awkwardness set off an explosion of amusement in the chat:
[Hahaha! Lance is so nervous!]
[Lance: Who am I? Where am I? Why am I streaming?]
[That tone, it's like he's opening an emergency League meeting hahaha]
[Don't be nervous, Lance! Just play the game!]
[Right, right, pretend the camera doesn't exist! We just want to watch hahaha]
[Just seeing Lance play is already a miracle, we're not asking for interaction.]
Seeing the comments telling him to ignore the camera, Lance felt a small reprieve. His tense nerves visibly relaxed.
He focused on the game screen, finally feeling in control.
"Okay." He responded curtly, taking control of his character. He prepared to leave the Champion Hall and head straight to Professor Oak about the second playthrough.
Cynthia had said the second playthrough involved Ultra Wormholes, which made him feel a sense of urgency.
But just as his character reached the center of the hall…
BOOM!
A deafening roar, like the world itself was collapsing, blasted from the speakers.
The magnificent ceiling of the Champion Hall, as if struck by an invisible fist from the sky, shattered into pieces.
Massive rocks, twisted steel beams, and clouds of dust fell like the apocalypse had arrived.
Lance froze, fingers locked on the keyboard.
The chat exploded in shock.
[Holy crap?!]
[What the hell?!]
[Who just attacked the Champion Hall?!]
Through the smoke and dust, a slender figure descended slowly from above, radiating an earth-shaking, terrifying presence. It hovered steadily in the hall.
Its body was covered in pale purple devices gleaming with cold metal. Its elongated humanoid shape had a long tail swaying behind it.
Most unnerving were its eyes—cold and piercing. Psychic waves radiated from it, distorting the space around it.
Lance's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
What Pokémon was this?
He had never seen it before.
Its appearance, its pure and vast mental power—it all radiated a deep, instinctive threat.
This was no ordinary Pokémon.
And then it spoke. Its voice was cold, mechanical, emotionless, echoing directly in Lance's mind as if looking down on him:
"Human… the so-called Champion? Hmph, such insignificant power. Let me see if you are worthy… of being my opponent."
Before Lance could react, the battle interface was forcibly triggered.
This time the combat was completely different. No longer turn-based—it was real-time.
The opponent's name was shown as: ???
Its level: ???
Lance's heart pounded. A chill shot from his spine to his skull.
But his instincts as a Champion kicked in immediately.
He sent out his lead Pokémon, Appletun.
"Appletun, Dragon Claw!"
Appletun glowed green and charged.
The opponent barely glanced. A thought resonated in Lance's mind: Pathetic struggle.
[Opponent moves first! ??? used Psychic!]
The mysterious Pokémon raised a single finger. Instantly, a psychic force tore through space, slamming into Appletun.
Appletun didn't even cry out. Its HP was gone in one hit.
One-hit KO.
Lance's pupils shook.
The chat went wild:
[?? One-shot?!]
[Full HP Appletun killed in one move???]
[Level is ??? Is this a hack?]
[What is this thing?! Scripted loss?]
Lance forced himself to stay calm. This was a battle. The opponent's move seemed special. He switched to Aerodactyl, which had higher special defense.
"Aerodactyl, Flamethrower!"
Aerodactyl unleashed a pillar of fire. The Pokémon remained still. A pale purple psychic barrier blocked it effortlessly.
Purple light flickered in its eyes. A dark shadow ball, moving near-instantly, struck Aerodactyl perfectly.
Aerodactyl shrieked and was gone in a single hit.
Lance's heart sank.
Physical, special—nothing worked.
He sent out Altaria.
"Altaria, Dragon Breath, now!" He hoped to paralyze it.
Altaria's attack hit, but the damage was negligible.
Alarm bells rang in Lance's mind. The opponent's defense was absurdly high.
The Pokémon vanished.
[??? used Phantom Force!]
Danger.
Lance's instincts screamed.
"Altaria, Protect!"
A pale green barrier enveloped Altaria.
But the opponent appeared from the void above, claws wrapped in ghost energy, ignoring the shield.
[Phantom Force hits!]
The shield shattered. Altaria's HP instantly dropped to zero. Another one-hit KO.
Lance went blank.
It broke Protect. And why had the battle suddenly become real-time?
This Pokémon wasn't just powerful—it broke every rule of battle mechanics.
Dragonite and Omastar were like candles in the wind. Successive Psychics and Shadow Balls took them down in seconds.
Finally, [GAME OVER] filled the screen.
The Pokémon hovered, looking down at the defeated character. Its cold mechanical voice sounded again:
"Weak… too weak… not worth a single blow. The so-called Champion is nothing more than this. You… don't even deserve to be my opponent."
Purple light flashed. The figure blurred and vanished.
All that remained was the destroyed Champion Hall and Lance, frozen in front of the screen, mouth slightly open, eyes vacant.
He stared at the failure prompt and his grayed-out team.
One Pokémon had annihilated a Champion's team.
Lance's mind was a whirlwind:
Who am I? Where am I? What just happened? I just defeated Steven, became Hoenn Champion… and a Pokémon I've never seen just broke in and wiped us out?
The chat was a mess of question marks and exclamations:
[???]
[What did I just see?!]
[The streamer… wiped by a wild Pokémon?! And it called him weak…]
[What Pokémon was that?! A ghost?!]
[Scripted loss?]
[Lance: Who am I? Where is my team? Where's my Championship?]
[Feel bad for Lance… just reached the top and got slapped down…]
[This second playthrough… brutal start. Hang in there, Lance…]
Lance sat frozen, unable to process it.
The blinding light and deafening boom had become a monster. The dignity and instinct of a Champion forced him to calm his racing heart.
He took deep breaths. His fingers trembled.
He opened the replay function.
The minute-long nightmare played again.
The figure was too fast, too strong. Watching it over and over, combined with the chat, Lance forced himself to analyze its power.
If the game connected to reality, if this Pokémon truly existed… could it appear before him one day?
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones