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 mber...
Sothing felt familiar about him. This person seed to be... Sidney?
Yes, it should be him.
In the real-world Sinnoh, she'd heard of this Hoenn Elite Four mber 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 mont, the screen suddenly went dark and a glaring red ga 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?
Sowhat 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 et current level requirents (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 mbers.
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 ga 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 ga.
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 ga's forum.
The official developers seed to have noticed this forum's existence. Now players could even access the forum directly through an in-ga 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 ga Evolution. As for Mudkip, I rember 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 soone 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 na.
Cynthia clicked accept.
The friend request barely went through before a private ssage 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 mont before the ssage ca back: "Route 111, near the desert edge at that small pond.
Use a Good Rod. The rate isn't great, requires so 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 ssage arrived from the other person:
"By the way, you ntioned 'ga Evolution' earlier... what is that? I don't think I've heard of it."
Cynthia was sowhat surprised.
This "Plate of Earth" person knew Mudkip's location and seed like a veteran player, yet didn't know about ga Evolution?
She explained: "It's a special form of evolution.
Requires the Pokémon to hold a corresponding ga 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 seed very interested. "Where can these ga 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 ga Stone as thanks." She shared her experience obtaining her first ga Stone.
"Though you need to have a Pokémon capable of ga 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 ssage 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 imdiately had her character use Fly, heading toward Route 111.
She needed to hurry and fish for that Mudkip.
anwhile, in Team Rocket's secret base in the Kanto region, inside a dimly lit room filled with various complex instrunt 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 ga Evolution and how to obtain ga Stones, provided by that player whose na 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.
ga Evolution... a never-before-heard technology that could instantly boost a Pokémon's power? And it apparently required a specific item called a "ga Stone" to activate?
A barely perceptible smile curved Giovanni's lips.
This was too interesting. If this power was real, then... it would beco yet another trump card for Team Rocket's domination of Kanto, even the entire world!
Rustboro City... He imdiately 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 sothing like this existed in the real world too, then no matter the cost, he had to master this power called "ga Evolution"!
But speaking of which...
His gaze fell on the screen.
This person... able to provide so much information about the ga, must be quite an accomplished player.
Such talent... was there any possibility of recruiting them?
He pressed a button on his communicator.
Monts 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 imdiately responded, quickly pulling out a portable terminal to work.
The base's interior lighting was sowhat dim, only the screen's glow illuminating her focused face.
Ti 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 na on screen and the official photo of Cynthia beside it.
Wait, what?
Who???
The air seed to freeze for several seconds.
The crucial intel he'd just obtained about that ga Evolution capable of instantly boosting Pokémon power... the source was actually the Sinnoh Champion?
Cynthia?
He'd randomly found soone on the forum and ended up asking her??
An extrely absurd feeling welled up in Giovanni, leaving him montarily unsure how to react.
"...Cynthia?" Giovanni repeated the na, 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 dread 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.
---
anwhile, 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.
Ti passed bit by bit. The bobber sank several tis, but what ca 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 sowhat dopey-looking eyes appeared in the battle fra: 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... seed 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 ca 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 seed 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 ti 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 ti, the mont 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 ti she didn't even get to see the cavern interior again, let alone that mysterious Pokémon.
After brief astonishnt, Cynthia instead cald down.
She realized this was definitely not a bug, but so kind of... conditional restriction.
To enter the cavern, her current strength wasn't enough, or she needed to fulfill so 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 imdiate 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 so "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 ga had just updated, and she could log back on!
Her lips curved upward slightly.
Experiencing a Legendary Pokémon for the first ti... here I co!
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