A white silk thread shot out like a bolt of lightning, wrapping precisely around Ekans head!
Before Ekans could even react, its vision was blocked by the thread, its body losing balance as it thrashed around wildly.
"What?!" Jessie cried out in shock.
Koffing moved to help, drifting over, only to be caught by another thread from Caterpie that wrapped around its body.
"Caterpie!"
Caterpie yanked hard, sending Koffing crashing straight into Ekans. The two massive Pokémon tumbled together in a heap.
owth saw things going south and charged in with its claws, trying to land a sneak attack.
Caterpie spun around and fired another thread, wrapping it around owth's foot and leaving it dangling upside down in midair.
All three of Team Rocket's Pokémon were subdued in an instant, and as their enormous bodies toppled over, they landed squarely on Jessie and Jas, who had no ti to get out of the way.
"Aaagh! They're so heavy!"
"Soone help!"
Jessie, pinned under Ekans, couldn't move an inch. She let out a wail: "How could we lose to a Caterpie?!" Jas struggled beneath Koffing: "Curse you..."
At that mont, Pikachu had already managed to shake the mud off its face.
"Pikachu!"
Ash called out.
Pikachu understood imdiately. A blinding flash of electricity crackled through the air.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous explosion, Team Rocket went blasting off again, disappearing into the horizon like a shooting star.
"What a horrible feeeeling!"
The voices faded and faded, until there was silence.
In the livestream chat, everyone had been holding their breath since monts ago.
Now, they finally exhaled.
[Holy crap! Caterpie is insane!!]
[I'm crying, nobody believed in you, and yet you ca through the most!]
[Who says Bug-types are weak? Caterpie is the GOAT!]
[Y'all were grossed out by it earlier, how's that crow taste?]
The battle was over.
The battlefield fell quiet again.
Ash ran over and scooped Caterpie into his arms, so excited he could barely get the words out: "You were incredible, Caterpie! You're amazing!"
Then, sothing unexpected happened.
Caterpie's body suddenly began to emit a soft white glow, which shifted into a brilliant, rainbow-colored radiance.
"This, this is..."
Both Ash and Misty froze.
Before their eyes, Caterpie's body began to change within the light. Its soft worm-like form started to harden, its shape shifting and transforming.
The light grew brighter and brighter, illuminating everything around it.
"Is this... evolution?!"
Misty gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
Seconds later, the light faded.
The little green Caterpie was gone. In its place stood a creature with a massive, hard shell and vivid green eyes.
tapod!
"Caterpie evolved! It beca a tapod!"
Ash stared at the tapod before him, eyes shining with excitent. It was the first ti he had ever witnessed a Pokémon evolve with his own eyes.
"tapod, I'm counting on you from here on out!"
Pikachu, still sporting a not-quite-clean ring of black mud around one eye, hopped over to offer its congratulations: "Pika pika!"
Misty, who had always been terrified of bugs, found herself staring at the hard-shelled tapod, and for once, she didn't scream.
She stepped closer, peeked at it carefully, and muttered quietly:
"...This, this one isn't so bad, actually..."
The chat filled with warm, affectionate reactions.
[It evolved! So that's what evolution looks like?]
[Called it! I knew it could change!]
[tapod looks so solid, that defense stat must be off the charts.]
[Misty's attitude shift is so real, a hard shell is definitely easier to deal with than a squishy worm.]
[Since it's a cocoon now, a butterfly is next.]
[Congrats Caterpie, one step closer to flying free!]
Dan the Demon King watched the scene unfold and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
"That was a good episode," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Type matchups, villain debut, an underdog victory, and an evolution. A lot going on, but the pacing was spot on."
"And especially that little monologue from Caterpie before the final burst, the emotional buildup was really well done."
"Man, this show is just good."
Just as he finished his thought, those familiar words appeared on screen again.
[To be continued...]
Even if everyone still wanted more, this ti nobody had a ltdown like before, because they all knew the next episode would co eventually, and it would be just as good.
[Production team, you legends!]
[What's Misty's Pokémon called again, I kind of forgot.]
[Is Pidgeotto evolving next episode? I'm so hyped!]
[Can Pikachu even evolve?]
Dan the Demon King looked at the chat and shrugged.
"These questions you're all asking... I want to know too."
"Just wondering when Episode Four is going to drop."
anwhile, at Mt. Coronet.
Morning sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, painting the floor in a faint golden hue.
Cynthia stood by the window, a warm cup of black coffee cradled in her hands, her gaze drifting toward the vast blue sky in the distance.
The weather today was almost unfairly beautiful, one of those rare, perfect days in Sinnoh.
Garchomp behind her seed to sense its Trainer's thoughts and stood quietly at her side.
"You're right, it's a lovely view," Cynthia said softly, taking a small sip.
"But if that crisis in the Ghost World hadn't been resolved, if that rift between worlds hadn't been sealed... we wouldn't get to enjoy weather like this."
The weight of it pressed on her.
The Ghost World incident had reminded her, once again, of her own limits. Even with everything she had, there were still things beyond her reach.
Garchomp blinked, as if genuinely pondering this, then gently rubbed the top of its head against the back of her hand, as if to say: don't think too hard about it.
Cynthia smiled faintly and finished the rest of her coffee in one go.
The languid ease she'd carried a mont ago vanished entirely, replaced by the sharpness and composure that ca with being Sinnoh's Champion.
"Alright, enough heavy thoughts. It's a new day, ti to keep moving forward."
She walked over to her desk, opened her streaming software with practiced ease, adjusted the cara, and clicked that familiar green icon: Erald. As the stream went live, the chat erupted like a wave that had been held back for far too long.
[Good morning, Lady Cynthia!]
[Finally, you're live! Yesterday that strear next door had an Turtonator that was absolutely cursed, I couldn't stop laughing.]
[What are you playing today? Still New Ga Plus?]
[My queen drinking coffee is the most beautiful thing, so this is what Champion life looks like?]
Looking at the flood of greetings, Cynthia smiled gently.
"Good morning, everyone. Nice weather today."
"Let's continue New Ga Plus."
No one in the chat had any idea what kind of battle she had just fought through in the Ghost World.
The ga had already finished loading. Cynthia opened the team screen.
After long hours of grinding at the Battle Frontier, her team had been completely transford.
Every Pokémon was above level 80, their EV spreads painstakingly cultivated, and her bag was stocked with a mountain of Max Revives, Full Restores, and rare held items. It was nothing short of lavish.
Her team was more than ready for the challenges of New Ga Plus.
As she sorted through her bag, Cynthia ntally reviewed where the story had left off.
Based on the hints from before, the New Ga Plus story seed to begin in Petalburg City.
She recalled that at the start of New Ga Plus, Professor Birch had specifically asked her to head to Petalburg, suggesting sothing there was waiting for her.
She guided her character out the door, hopped on the Bike, and set off toward Petalburg at full speed.
[It's starting! New Ga Plus story!]
[Sitting back and watching her steamroll everything.]
[Don't get too comfortable though. Iono got wrecked in her New Ga Plus run, and Erald NG is supposedly brutal too.]
Petalburg City.
The mont Cynthia arrived, a familiar figure ca stumbling toward her in a panic.
It was Wally, her neighbor from near the Petalburg Gym.
His face was flushed, his forehead slick with sweat. Whatever had just happened to him, it wasn't small.
"Sothing terrible happened, Strawberry Sundae!" Wally grabbed her character's arm, voice rushed.
"Just now, people from Team Magma attacked ! They stole my bag and ran deeper into the city! Quick, you have to stop them!"
Cynthia raised an eyebrow.
Team Magma?
That evil organization from the first playthrough, the ones who tried to expand the landmass? Weren't they already disbanded?
Without overthinking it, she imdiately took control and gave chase.
In a secluded corner of Petalburg, several figures in red uniforms were huddled together, clearly searching for sothing. When they saw Cynthia approaching, they spun around, eyes sharp and hostile.
"Another ddler?" one of them sneered. "If you're looking to get hurt, don't bla us!"
The battle began instantly.
Against grunts like these, Cynthia didn't even need to think. She sent out one of her aces directly: Dracovish. A flash of red light, and there it was, ancient and fierce beneath its armored bones, eyes gleaming with predatory intensity.
One hit. Done.
The battle ended cleanly, Dracovish didn't take so much as a scratch.
"Hmph, Champion or not, it doesn't matter!" one of the grunts snarled, clutching his wounds as he backed away. "We need those teorite shards, it's for the cause! Don't think you can stop us!"
With that, they fled.
Just then, Cynthia's PokéNav started ringing.
On the other end was the serious, asured voice of Devon Corporation's president, Mr. Stone.
"Strawberry Sundae, thank you for driving off Team Magma. But I have urgent news. According to our monitoring systems, a massive teorite is heading straight for Hoenn. If it isn't stopped, the entire world could face catastrophe."
Cynthia paused for a mont.
"We need the teorite shards and the legendary power to stop it," Mr. Stone continued. "There's a lead on the shards at the Granite Cave near Dewford Town. Please, you have to go check it out."
She hung up. The chat was already buzzing.
[Wait, saving the world right out of the gate? Didn't we just do this in the first playthrough?]
[A teorite?]
[Speaking of which, that Devon Scope earlier was so useful. The team ca together so fast in the early ga because of it.]
[Honestly, whoever thought up the Exp. Share deserves a dal, I actually love that thing.]
"Dewford Town," Cynthia murmured to herself, guiding her character to board the ship heading that way.
As the vessel cut through the waves, Cynthia watched the scenery blur past the window, her eyes going slightly distant.
A teorite. The ultimate power.
Those words had clearly touched sothing buried deep in her mory.
"I suppose this is the opening chapter of New Ga Plus," she said softly. It was addressed to the chat, technically, but it sounded more like she was steadying herself. "A teorite, of all things."
Her expression shifted, just barely, as if sothing had surfaced in her mind, but she didn't elaborate. She simply brought her focus back to the screen.
Dewford Town. The Granite Cave.
The cave was damp and shadowed, water droplets trickling down the rocky walls with quiet, rhythmic echoes.
Cynthia guided her character carefully deeper inside, and soon, in the farthest reaches of the cave, a silhouette ca into view.
A girl in black, dragon-thed clothing. Her long dark hair drifted behind her, and her eyes held a resolve and urgency that seed far beyond her years. Sensing Cynthia's approach, the girl spun around sharply, her gaze cutting like a blade.
"So you're the new Champion?"
"I'm Zinnia. Child of the Lorekeeper."
Zinnia's voice was cold and clear. "Perfect timing. I'll be taking those teorite shards and that bracelet."
Before Cynthia could react, Zinnia moved.
A notification flashed across the screen.
[The ga Bracelet has been taken!]
"Only I can summon Rayquaza. Only I can save this world!"
Zinnia clutched the bracelet, her eyes alight with a desperate, almost fanatical intensity.
"You so-called Champions don't understand what it actually costs!"
She left behind nothing but a small, unassuming shard of teorite, then turned and walked away without looking back.
[Obtained: Small teorite Shard]
Cynthia stared at the now-empty bracelet slot, montarily stunned. The chat absolutely exploded.
[Are you kidding ? She just ROBBED you?!]
[The ga Evolution is gone?! My ga Sceptile!!]
[Who even IS this girl? She just shows up and starts stealing things?]
[Honestly, classic Erald. Too bad you can't fight her yet, otherwise one Victini would be more than enough to send her flying, no ga needed.]
Cynthia looked at the screen and shook her head with a wry smile.
As frustrating as it was to have sothing taken from her, she had noticed the slight tremor in Zinnia's shoulders, the urgency written across her face. Whatever this girl was after, it wasn't simple greed. There was sothing else driving her.
Erald was a 2D pixel ga, but these kinds of details had always been rendered with care. It felt deliberate.
Right then, another call ca through from Mr. Stone.
"Strawberry Sundae, if you've got the teorite shard, head to the teor Falls Technology Center imdiately! We need to track the teorite's trajectory!"
Fallarbor Town. The teor Falls Technology Center.
This was Hoenn's most technologically advanced facility, massive radar dishes fixed permanently toward the sky.
The mont Cynthia stepped through the doors, the tension in the air hit her imdiately.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones
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