Ahead Lies Sealed... an Eternal Existence!

On the screen, a prompt quietly floated:

[Scizorite discovered!]

Cynthia fell into thought as well.

Scizor? An Evolution Stone?

What kind of Pokémon was Scizor?

...And what did Mega Evolution mean?

Well, whenever she was completely confused, she was supposed to check the chat.

She shifted her gaze to the right side of the screen. Sure enough, the livestream chat had already exploded.

[What the hell? There are Mega Stones here too?]

[Are you clueless? They were always in Emerald Kaizo, including Scizor's.]

[Mega Scizor feels pretty average. It takes up a Mega slot... I still prefer Swampert.]

[You just want to get hit by a Technician Bullet Punch!]

[Talk to my Aura Sphere.]

The chat was buzzing with discussion. Clearly, they seemed to know a great deal about this thing.

Cynthia thought for a moment.

"Everyone, what... is this used for?"

Her question drew even more messages:

[You don't even know what a Mega Stone is? Sinnoh people really don't understand Kalos technology, huh?]

[Mega Evolution is a special evolution mechanic. Pokémon become even stronger after evolving. Officially, it's called an evolution beyond evolution!]

[Does anyone get me when I say this is the greatest mechanic in Pokémon history? Nobody could possibly dislike Mega Evolution!]

[For Mega Evolution, the Pokémon needs to hold a Mega Stone, while the Trainer needs a Key Stone. Then it can Mega Evolve in battle... That stone is for evolving Scizor. You need to catch a Scyther, then have it hold a Metal Coat to evolve into Scizor.]

[You won't get the Key Stone until later, so don't rush.]

Cynthia carefully read the explanations in the chat, her brow furrowing.

The fact that a Pokémon like Scyther could evolve again in the game was already beyond her expectations.

And as for Mega Evolution...

An additional... evolution?

A Pokémon that had already reached its final form could evolve again?

If she had seen something like this elsewhere, she probably would have simply laughed it off.

But...

That moment from last night suddenly flashed through her mind.

She had been looking at ancient writing she originally could not recognize, yet in that instant, it had all become clear to her as though enlightenment had struck.

If that unbelievable ability was real...

Then perhaps this Mega Evolution... was not merely a game setting either?

Cynthia opened her bag and silently stared at the icon, deep in thought.

This couldn't possibly... be real too, could it?

What Cynthia did not know was that while she was lost in thought, the viewer count in the upper-right corner of the livestream had quietly climbed past sixty. The chat was scrolling noticeably faster as new IDs steadily poured in.

The moment they entered and saw the person on the screen, they voiced familiar doubts once again:

[What the hell, why does the streamer look so much like Cynthia??]

[This cosplay is way too accurate. I almost believed it for real.jpg]

[Oh my god, Mom!]

The longtime viewers began welcoming them:

[What do you mean, "looks like"? The streamer herself said she's Cynthia, okay? Don't get it wrong.]

[Welcome to Cynthia's livestream! Follow Cynthia, meow! Thank you for following Cynthia, meow!]

When Cynthia came back to herself and saw the screen filled with "why does she look so much like her," "cosplayer," and sarcastic comments, she could not help pursing her lips helplessly.

Why did everyone who entered refuse to believe that she really was Cynthia?

She shook her head slightly.

Forget it.

Whether they believed her or not was unimportant. What mattered now was continuing the game's story.

After all, her time today... was limited.

After leaving the forest, Cynthia took a boat to Dewford Town.

Azure seawater lapped against the docks. Cynthia briefly observed the little island town and soon spotted a fishing NPC standing by the shore.

She stepped forward and interacted with him, successfully obtaining an "Old Rod."

With the chat's explanation, she quickly figured out how to use it. She found a patch of water by the shore and directly pressed the fishing button.

The line was cast. After a few seconds of waiting, the fishing rod in the character's hands suddenly began to tremble!

She promptly pressed confirm.

Water splashed everywhere as a figure was reeled in. The battle began!

However, when that Pokémon appeared on the screen, not only did the chat go crazy, but even Cynthia froze.

What had taken the bait was a Feebas.

But this one looked distinctly different. Its body was light purple, as though it had been... poisoned.

To be honest, Feebas already looked ugly enough. This color only made it look even worse.

But the chat's reaction was completely different from what Cynthia had expected.

[Holy shit! A Shiny on the first cast!! What kind of luck is that??]

[Holy crap!! Shiny Feebas!!!]

[Streamer, save the game! Save it now!!]

[Why can Feebas even be caught here? I'm grinding my teeth to dust.]

Cynthia looked at the astonished messages filling the screen, somewhat confused.

Why were they so excited?

She could not help speaking softly.

"Everyone, Feebas... isn't a Pokémon that excels in battle, is it?"

She had heard of Shiny Pokémon. They were Pokémon with special appearances, but other than their altered colors, there was nothing particularly special about them.

Although this one's color truly was even uglier than an ordinary Feebas, making it distinctive, it was still a Feebas at its core.

But the chat clearly did not see it that way.

[Streamer, you're seriously clueless. What does Feebas not being good at battling have to do with Milotic? Milotic has pseudo-legendary stats!]

[Exactly. Just keep it with you. You'll know how amazing it is once it evolves!]

[Ma'am, Magikarp is weak too, but isn't Gyarados strong?]

[Absolute strength and beauty, born from childhood ugliness, teaching you about Beauty evolution, it will be...?]

Seeing the chat before her, Cynthia's hand hovered over the keyboard as she froze.

Milotic?!

Feebas... could evolve into Milotic??

Her mind instantly conjured the large pool in her backyard.

There was actually a Feebas living in that pool. She had picked it up during a walk long ago. Because it was not particularly pleasant-looking, no Trainer had been willing to take it in, and it had been abandoned in a pond filled with filthy water.

Naturally, she could not simply stand by and watch. She had brought it home and raised it in the backyard. Whenever she went to feed them, that Feebas was always the quietest one. Sometimes, it would rub its rough head against her hand...

She had never considered training it. Feebas truly did not have much potential... and besides, it did not seem to have any desire to improve itself or become stronger.

But now, the chat was telling her...

—It could actually evolve?

And... into Milotic??

Naturally, Cynthia knew of Milotic.

Mysterious, powerful, beautiful.

For some reason, this Pokémon was incredibly scarce. She herself had once considered raising one, but even after searching throughout the entire Sinnoh League, she had failed to find one.

It was said that Trainers who used Milotic could be counted on one hand across the entire world.

Cynthia raised an eyebrow slightly.

She looked away from the chat and back at the level-eight Feebas with its purple body on the screen.

After thinking for a moment, she did not even have Combusken weaken it. She simply threw a Poké Ball.

The ball struck it, shook once—twice—three times—

"Ding."

Accompanied by cheerful music, the capture succeeded.

As she watched the notification that Feebas had joined her team, she could not help asking the chat:

"Feebas... can really evolve into Milotic?"

She found it difficult to understand, because if Feebas truly could evolve into Milotic, then it should have caused a sensation across the entire world long ago.

After all, such a mysterious, rare, and powerful Pokémon... was known to everyone.

Before long, she received the chat's answer.

[Does the streamer really not know, or is she pretending not to know? It evolves through Beauty!]

[Simply put, as long as Feebas's Beauty reaches a certain condition... it can evolve into Milotic.]

[You can increase its Beauty by entering Pokémon Contests later. Pokémon Contests unlock afterward.]

[Or you can have Feebas hold a Heart Scale. I think it needs to evolve through trading?]

Cynthia looked at the messages thoughtfully.

She truly did not understand the Pokémon Contest or Beauty parts.

But she knew about Heart Scales... They were a rare and uncommon resource. Later, she could use her connections in the League to try and find one.

Come to think of it... after this livestream ended, when she went home, she should check on that Feebas in the backyard first.

Leaving the docks, Cynthia guided her character toward the northern side of Dewford Town. The entrance to a cave came into view.

The passage stretching inward was swallowed by darkness, its end impossible to see.

A helmeted mountaineer stood beside the entrance. When she approached, dialogue automatically triggered:

["The cave ahead is very dark. If you don't have a Pokémon use Flash, you won't be able to see the path at all!"]

[Obtained Flash TM!]

The chat immediately began spamming messages:

[There's no point teaching Flash now. You need to beat the Dewford Gym before you can use it!]

[Yeah, just go into the cave first and train a little.]

Cynthia nodded and directly guided her character into the entrance on the left side of the cave.

Upon entering the cave, the screen darkened almost instantly.

The entire screen was shrouded in black. Only the faint circle of light beneath the character's feet barely illuminated two or three tiles of ground around them.

The chat began eagerly giving directions, but there were too many people talking at once, making it a complete mess.

[Go right. There's a path on the right that goes around.]

[Go up first. Turn left after you see the rock. It's easy.]

[Right! Right!]

Cynthia glanced at the conflicting messages and shook her head slightly.

"Everyone, you don't need to take such care of me. I'm not that easily lost."

After all, she had explored so many ruins and underground caverns. There was no way she would get lost in a cave in a game, right?

Besides... slowly exploring an unknown place was the best part.

So, she began moving through the darkness.

The small circle of light around the character slowly moved forward. After only a few steps, a level-sixteen wild Zubat burst out of the darkness. The screen went black, and the battle began.

Cynthia sent out Mightyena first.

Mightyena's Intimidate activated, lowering Zubat's Attack by one stage!

Mightyena let out a low growl, followed by a Crunch—Zubat's HP bar was instantly emptied, and the battle ended.

Just as she had expected, as the levels of wild Pokémon increased, so did the experience gained. After that battle, both Mightyena and Shroomish leveled up.

She continued onward.

From a Poké Ball in the corner of the cave, she picked up an Escape Rope. Then she encountered a Machop, which was likewise taken out with a Crunch.

After noticing that Cynthia seemed to be finding the way herself, the chat messages giving directions gradually quieted down.

But just like that, several minutes passed.

Someone noticed something was wrong.

[Wait, didn't the streamer just walk through here?]

[I thought it looked familiar too. This is already the second time, right?]

[The third time!! I've been watching. It's the same rock—they've passed it three times already!!]

The chat began to stir:

[Streamer... are you lost?]

Cynthia stared at the screen in silence for a moment.

"..."

Then she nodded.

"Yes."

The chat instantly exploded:

[I thought the streamer was grinding levels... turns out she was lost...]

[An archaeologist getting lost in a cave, hahahahaha!]

[I'm dying, I screenshotted how confident you looked just now!]

Cynthia continued explaining with complete seriousness:

"Normally, when I go somewhere like this, Spiritomb uses Will-O-Wisp to light up the area, and it can help me figure out the direction too..."

"But now... Spiritomb isn't here, and I really can't see very well, so..."

She paused.

"...I lost my sense of direction."

The chat obviously didn't believe her:

[Sure, sure, I believe you.jpg]

[I feel like the real Cynthia wouldn't get lost. You're just too stubborn to admit it.]

[Spiritomb: Don't pin this on me!]

Cynthia looked at the comments and sighed helplessly.

I'm sitting here myself... and I really did get lost.

Fortunately, the chat had already begun loudly giving directions. Their suggestions were all over the place and differed from one another, but overall, they were correct.

Following the chat's guidance, Cynthia finally found the right ladder forward and successfully entered the third floor of Granite Cave.

After entering this level, she found that the surrounding rocks were a little darker, almost pitch-black. Yet the light was actually slightly brighter than before—there were specks of multicolored pixel-like light on the cave walls, seemingly ores.

After only a few steps, she stopped.

Because a stone tablet had suddenly appeared on the wall ahead.

Cynthia instinctively stepped up to the tablet and pressed the interact button. A line of symbols she had never seen before appeared—an array of raised dots, densely arranged across the stone surface.

The chat immediately began discussing it:

[That's Braille, right? I remember there really was Braille here.]

[It has something to do with the Regi trio. In the original game, this was a clue for deciphering the seals on the Regis.]

[Have the streamer read it out loud. Didn't she say she's an archaeologist? Hahahaha.]

[Who the hell knows Braille under normal circumstances?]

But Cynthia wasn't looking at the chat at all.

Her eyes fell on those raised symbols, and the same feeling from last night descended upon her once more!

In a daze, she directly understood what those symbols meant!

"...Ahead lies something sealed for eternity... Do not proceed any further."

She instinctively read it aloud in a low voice.

The chat fell silent for half a second.

[???]

[Is the streamer just making this up?]

[I never actually looked up what this meant when I was a kid... can someone explain?]

[Wait, I'll go check a Braille chart...]

A few seconds later, the person who had sent that comment returned.

[Holy shit?]