Cynthia knew full well that Archie was a formidable opponent. His Sharpedo and Crawdaunt had even steamrolled her team once before.
But against her current squad, now fully matured and battle-hardened, he wasn't unbeatable!
Ti ticked away, second by second.
After multiple attempts, Cynthia relied on superior strategy and strength to steadily suppress Archie, ultimately defeating him!
"Damn it... you little brat, to think you've gotten this strong..." Archie knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, his face twisted with frustration. "
But this isn't over! For the glory of the boundless ocean! I will find a way to control Kyogre!"
After his dramatic declaration, he staggered to his feet, leapt onto a small submarine parked nearby, and fled the base in disarray.
Cynthia didn't move her character to pursue. Or rather, she didn't have the chance.
Her mind was completely consud by what she had just witnessed.
She stood her character still, replaying in her head the mont that Pokémon called "Kyogre" burst from the water.
That cataclysmic power, that colossal body like a mountain, that presence that seed to command the very seas themselves...
She realized this was undoubtedly a legendary Pokémon she had never seen before, nor read about in any records.
Team Aqua's insane plan centered on this being called "Kyogre"!
Its uncontrolled escape likely ant even greater trouble was about to descend on the Hoenn region in the ga.
While she was still reeling in shock and contemplation, the Navigator system in the ga rang out urgently once more.
"Beep beep beep"
Cynthia opened the communication. It was the director of the Weather Institute again, but his voice was even more panicked than before:
"Strawberry Ice Cream!
This is bad!
We just detected that Kyogre's energy signature vanished from the Seafloor Cavern, but... but Mount Chimney!
There's an even stronger energy wave coming from Mount Chimney, completely opposite in nature!
The temperature across the entire Mount Chimney region is rising rapidly, volcanic activity has beco abnormally active!
It's almost like... please go to the base of Mount Chimney imdiately and check the situation! Hurry!"
Mount Chimney? Energy waves?
Cynthia's heart lurched.
Things here weren't even resolved yet, and now there's a new crisis?
No choice. She imdiately maneuvered her character, used Dive to surface and return to the sea, then summoned Pelipper and used Fly to rush to the destination.
Through the sky, the screen rapidly shifted scenes.
In the blink of an eye, her character traveled from the azure coast of Mossdeep City to the base of Mount Chimney, located in the center of the Hoenn continent and surrounded by red rocks.
However, contrary to the Institute's description of abnormal activity, Mount Chimney's base looked remarkably calm at the mont.
The scorching air distorted the view. A few Geodude and Slugma moved sluggishly between the rocks. Aside from feeling hotter than usual, nothing seed particularly wrong.
Cynthia couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Where was this supposed energy source?
She moved her character back and forth around the mountain base, carefully checking every corner, but found nothing.
There was no sign of Team Magma, nor any obvious entrance or anomaly like the Seafloor Cavern.
Yet beneath this calm surface, Cynthia sensed undercurrents stirring.
This eerie tranquility was likely just the calm before the storm.
With no imdiate leads, Cynthia simply exited the ga, leaning back slightly in her chair.
On the screen, that overly peaceful scene at Mount Chimney's base lingered in her mind, forming a stark contrast with the earth-shattering spectacle at the Seafloor Cavern.
"Kyogre..." she whispered the na, her brow furrowing slightly.
That overwhelming power that seed capable of shaking the entire ocean, that ancient and majestic form, was definitely no ordinary legendary Pokémon. It was probably among the most powerful ones.
What concerned her more was Archie's fanatical slogan: "Bring endless oceans to this world."
It sounded like the ravings of an extremist organization, but combined with Kyogre's demonstrated power to alter natural environnts, it was more than just empty rhetoric.
She had a nagging feeling that she'd seen this na sowhere before.
Not in the ga, but in the ancient, fragnted texts she'd encountered as an archaeologist.
A strong intuition compelled her: she had to check, right now.
With that thought, Cynthia hesitated no longer. She stood up, straightened her clothes, grabbed Garchomp's Poké Ball, and walked straight out of the villa.
Mount Coronet, as the heart of the Sinnoh region, concealed many secrets unknown to the world.
Cynthia didn't use any Flying-type Pokémon. Instead, she followed a trail partially covered by snow, one rarely traveled, heading deeper into the mountain range.
She passed through a pine forest shrouded in icy mist, and suddenly the view opened up before her.
Before her eyes stood an ancient tree of unimaginable size!
Its trunk was as massive as a cliff face, its branches and leaves so lush they seed to hold up a corner of the sky itself.
This was a special tree known only to a select few within the Sinnoh League, codenad the "Tree of Knowledge." A secret library was housed within this colossal tree.
Cynthia approached the giant tree. There was what appeared to be a natural fold in the bark. She reached out and gently pressed a specific spot.
A faint light flickered, and a camouflaged door slid open silently, revealing a deep passage within, emanating a subtle woody fragrance. The passage was sowhat dim, illuminated only by soft white light from gems embedded in the walls.
Cynthia clearly knew this place well. She strode forward quickly. Before long, a shadow ahead twisted, and a purple, rotund figure slowly materialized, hovering in midair with an eerie smile on its face. A pair of red eyes stood out strikingly in the dimness.
A terrifying, powerful aura burst forth instantly, then quickly subsided.
It was a Gengar!
It was the guardian of this ancient library, having spent countless years here.
It was also an old acquaintance of Cynthia's.
No one knew the true extent of its strength, but every single person who had tried to break in here had disappeared without a trace.
Even the first ti Cynthia encountered this Gengar, she had felt imnse pressure. And at that ti, she was already a Champion.
[Kekekekeke...]
Gengar let out its signature creepy laugh, circling around Cynthia once before tilting its large head.
[Well, well, if it isn't our little Cynthia? What brings you to this old geezer's territory today? Did you run into sothing even you can't handle?]
Cynthia was long accustod to Gengar's attitude, even finding it sowhat endearing.
She smiled faintly.
"it's been a while. I have indeed encountered sothing... that caught my attention. I'd like to look up so records about legendary Pokémon, specifically ones related to the ocean."
"The ocean?" Gengar rubbed its round belly, putting on a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm... Sinnoh's legends are all about ti and space. The ocean... isn't usually our the. Looking for any particular na?"
"Kyogre." Cynthia imdiately spoke the word clearly.
"Kyo... gre?" Gengar repeated, and the playful look on its face faded sowhat.
A flash of recollection passed through its red eyes. "That na... I think I might actually rember it.
Feels like I saw it in so old to half-eaten by bugs... Follow , little one. Let's see how lucky you are."
With that, Gengar turned and floated deeper into the library. Cynthia followed close behind.
The interior of the library was far more vast than it appeared from outside.
Massive bookshelves stretched upward like cliff walls, disappearing into the darkness above.
The air was thick with the mingled scent of paper, ink, and ti itself.
Countless ancient scrolls, parchnt books, and stone tablets were neatly archived here.
Cynthia knew that many of these docunts dated back even further than the history of the Sinnoh League itself.
Gengar led Cynthia through row after row of towering shelves, finally stopping in a relatively secluded corner covered with a thin layer of dust.
The scrolls in this area looked exceptionally old, most made from so kind of plant fiber.
"Right, it should be around here sowhere."
Gengar gestured in a circle with its finger.
"All these are miscellaneous records of ancient legends from other regions. Hardly anyone cos to look at them anymore. They're practically forgotten.
Dig around and see what you can find.
I'm going to catch so shut-eye... maintaining this dashing form is exhausting, keke..." As soon as it finished speaking, its figure gradually faded, lting into the shadows cast by the shelves and vanishing from sight.
Cynthia shrugged helplessly and began her search alone.
She carefully leafed through the scrolls, her movents gentle but her gaze focused.
Most of the texts here contained fragnted myths or vague descriptions of various legendary Pokémon.
She'd been here before, but honestly, this place hadn't been much help in her research on legendary Pokémon. The information here was just too abstract.
Ti passed slowly. Just as she was beginning to doubt her intuition, at the bottom of an inconspicuous box made of so dark wood, she suddenly discovered a rolled-up piece of parchnt.
The edges of the parchnt were sowhat damaged, its color yellowed with age, but the patterns and text on it were miraculously well-preserved.
Cynthia carefully unrolled it, and the next mont, what she saw made her freeze!
The parchnt depicted, in ancient yet vivid strokes, a stunning scene: a vast ocean dominated most of the image, waves churning, massive swells towering.
At the center of the ocean stood a massive blue figure with enormous pectoral fins, none other than the Kyogre she'd seen in the ga!
Unlike in the ga, the Kyogre in this painting appeared even more majestic, more divine. Trendous energy swirled around it, as if it were the very embodint of the ocean itself.
Below the image were several lines of blurred ancient script.
Drawing on her deep scholarly knowledge, Cynthia could barely make out the general aning:
"...Incarnation of the ocean, Kyogre... Its wrath brings turbulent seas, its breath brings torrential rains... Clashes with the creator of the land, waves swallow mountains, expanding the endless domain of the sea..."
"Expanding the endless domain of the sea..." Cynthia murmured the last line, and it felt like lightning struck through her mind!
Archie's fanatical words: "Bring endless oceans to this world"!
Team Aqua's goal in the ga!
And in the Seafloor Cavern, Kyogre's terrifying power to alter the weather!
Every clue connected in that mont.
Cynthia's hand tightened slightly around the scroll.
Her earlier suspicions were confird, but her mood grew even heavier.
Team Aqua's plan wasn't just so ordinary sche.
They were trying to recreate the scenes from ancient legends, using Kyogre's power to literally have the ocean cover the entire earth!
This was no longer a regional crisis.
If they succeeded, the geographical layout and ecological balance of the entire world would be completely overturned.
It would be a catastrophic disaster sweeping across all regions!
She finally fully understood just how dramatic the main storyline of Pokémon Erald really was.
This wasn't just a Trainer's adventure. It was a challenge where the protagonist had to stop the world from being destroyed.
Cynthia took a deep breath, carefully rolled the parchnt back up, and returned it to the wooden box.
She decided she had to return to the ga imdiately. The anomaly at Mount Chimney was likely related to Kyogre's awakening, or Team Magma was plotting sothing as well. Either way, she had to check it out.
Just as Cynthia placed the parchnt back in the box and prepared to turn and leave, the shadows behind her writhed, and Gengar's rotund figure silently materialized once more.
[Kekekeke...]
Gengar laughed, its red eyes glancing at the box Cynthia had just closed.
[Our little Cynthia, why are you leaving so soon after finding what you need? In such a hurry? Is that the... Kyogre you were looking for?]
Cynthia paused mid-step, nodded, her tone carrying a hint of urgency she couldn't quite conceal. "Yes, I found it. But the situation might be dangerous. I need to get back right away."
[Get back?]
Gengar tilted its large head, looking puzzled. It floated in front of Cynthia.
[Back where? What big trouble happened in the outside world?
Don't tell so fool actually dared cause trouble in the Sinnoh region and wants to flood us with seawater?]
Caught off guard by Gengar's question, Cynthia froze for a mont, then realized what had happened.
A helpless, wry smile crossed her face. She suddenly beca aware that she'd been completely imrsed in the urgency brought on by the ga's plot, unconsciously treating the crisis unfolding in Hoenn as an imdiate real-world threat.
The impact of witnessing Kyogre's might firsthand and decoding ancient prophecies had left her montarily confused about the line between virtual and reality.
"No, it's not the real world..." Cynthia took a light breath, trying to explain. "It's... in a very special place, but not reality."
Gengar looked at Cynthia struggling to find the right words, its curiosity piqued even more.
It circled around her, pressing further.
[A special place? What's really going on? Co on, tell . Maybe this old geezer can help. Though honestly, I'd rather be sleeping...]
Facing this familiar and powerful senior, Cynthia knew there was no point in hiding anything.
Besides, Gengar was incredibly knowledgeable; maybe it really could offer so insight.
She organized her thoughts and explained as concisely as possible: "The specific chanism is hard for to explain clearly, but you could understand it as personally 'witnessing' a group calling themselves Team Aqua trying to find and control that legendary Pokémon nad Kyogre.
Their goal, just like recorded in this ancient text, is to use Kyogre's power to expand the ocean and attempt to have the entire world swallowed by the sea."
[Hahahaha!]
Upon hearing this, Gengar didn't look worried at all. Instead, it burst into laughter, flipping a sorsault in midair.
[Let the ocean swallow the world?
People these days have such interesting ideas, huh? But those legendary Pokémon, like dusty old relics, have been gone for who knows how many years.
They'd have to find it first!]
Cynthia shook her head, her expression serious. "No, Senior, I believe the legendary Pokémon may not have disappeared. Just recently, in the underground ruins, I personally saw Regirock, the Rock Peak Pokémon. If Regirock can appear, then this Kyogre..."
At the ntion of "Regirock," the playful expression on Gengar's face instantly faded considerably, and its aura began to stir.
It rubbed its smooth chin, a glimr of seriousness flashing in its red eyes.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones
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