Looks Like There Was No Misunderstanding.jpg

That bullet comment was still going:

[What she read is really right! I just took a picture and asked AI, that's exactly what it means!!]

The chat exploded instantly.

[Nani, the streamer can actually read braille??]

[She probably played it before and memorized it in advance, right?]

[Memorized my ass. This version's braille is different from the previous ones. I've never even seen it before. The original was supposed to say something like, "Then, we sealed him." How is that a warning like this?]

[So why does the streamer know braille?]

But Cynthia paid none of that any attention. Her gaze remained fixed on the stone tablet, and for some reason, a strange feeling welled up within her.

Her intuition told her that something seemed to be hidden behind this passage.

It was an instinct she had honed as a mythologist. In the past, every time that instinct had surfaced, it had ultimately been proven right.

Eternal Being... seal...?

As she pondered inwardly, her eyes shifted to the upper-right corner of the screen. Within the circle of light above, another similar stone tablet seemed to flicker in and out of view.

But when she tried to move her character up there, she discovered that the character simply could not climb walls.

There was a steep vertical slope nearby that looked like it might be a path, but it seemed impossible to walk up directly.

"How do I get up this slope...?"

She could not help asking for help.

The chat quickly responded.

[You need a bicycle to charge up that. You can't do it by walking normally. There are more places like that later on, and you'll need a bicycle for all of them too.]

[Yeah, you can only get a bicycle after beating the third Gym.]

[You can't get up there now. Just come back later.]

..

Can't get up there?

Cynthia frowned slightly, unable to suppress her disappointment.

She really wanted to see what was written on the tablets above.

Come to think of it, what kind of being... could be called "eternal"?

Meanwhile, the chat was still discussing it.

[I just remembered, the braille here seems different from the original version. Wasn't the original text different?]

[It's a mod. Pokémon Dark Rising changed a lot from the original game, so this was probably changed too.]

[Who cares? There's only a Rare Candy in the cave up there, nothing else good. This isn't Pokémon Dark Rising. I remember Regirock being here in Pokémon Dark Rising.]

..

After that brief interruption, Cynthia silently memorized the tablet's location and continued onward.

There were still quite a few Trainers in the cave, but her team had already taken shape, so dealing with these roadside Trainers was easy.

A few minutes later, after following the chat's instructions and picking up an Everstone in the cave, Cynthia finally reached the fourth floor—the upper level she had seen when first entering the cave.

She headed deeper in, and the screen suddenly brightened.

A vast cavern opened up before Cynthia's eyes.

In the distance, two figures seemed to be standing there.

Cynthia noticed the one on the left first. It was a silver-haired man in a white suit, apparently studying something on the wall.

Her brows rose.

Steven?

Of course she knew him—the Champion of the Hoenn region and the eldest son of Devon Corporation.

They had met several times at Pokémon League conferences. They did not keep in close contact, but they were both in Champion circles, so they could barely be considered acquaintances.

What she remembered most clearly was... that he seemed to have an almost terrifying obsession with stones. Every time they met, he would be holding some rock she had never seen before and studying it carefully.

She had never expected... to encounter him in this game.

Then, her gaze fell on the person to the right.

He appeared to be a man dressed in a black uniform, with a red "R" printed on it.

The instant she saw that symbol, Cynthia's brow furrowed.

Team Rocket!

That Team Aqua from yesterday, she had assumed, was probably a villainous organization created by the game for its story.

But Team Rocket was different.

It was a dark organization that had first appeared in the Kanto region before spreading its influence throughout the world.

Its members stole and robbed others of their Pokémon, conducted illegal experiments, performed genetic modifications... there was no evil they would not commit.

The Pokémon League had carried out cleanup operations in multiple regions, and she herself had once participated in an operation to destroy a Team Rocket hideout in the Hoenn region.

But even so, Team Rocket's influence had still spread to every corner of the world.

Their movements were secretive. Every time they seemed to have been dealt a devastating blow, they would always resurface somewhere in some corner of a region.

The Pokémon League had spent many years trying and failing to eradicate them completely. According to their investigations, the organization was even continuing to grow...

More importantly, the organization's upper ranks were especially elusive, and their bases were extremely well-hidden.

As for their leader... the Pokémon League could not even confirm whether they had one, much less who it was.

For that reason, the Pokémon League had never specifically revealed Team Rocket's existence to the public, fearing it would cause unrest among ordinary people.

Ordinary people therefore absolutely would not know that such an organization existed.

Yet now, this symbol had appeared before her!

That red R and those black-and-white uniforms.

They were exactly the same as the attire worn by the Team Rocket members she had seen in reality!

...So the creator of this game knew about Team Rocket too?

Cynthia suddenly realized an even deeper problem—if Team Rocket appeared in the game, what about that Team Aqua from before?

What about Gladion?

And all those people she did not recognize...

Cynthia shook her head.

No, what mattered more right now was whether the appearance of Team Rocket meant there might be other information about Team Rocket in the game as well.

Or was all of this merely something the game's creator had fabricated, half true and half false, based on knowledge of reality?

While Cynthia's thoughts were in turmoil, the scene on the screen continued to advance.

At the bottom of the screen, the conversation between the two had appeared.

[Team Rocket Grunt: "Hey, how long are you going to keep dawdling in front of that rock? What we're looking for lies deeper within this cave—something related to that... seal. If we can find it, the boss will be very pleased."]

[Steven: "...I won't move aside. If you want to break that guy's seal, have you not considered the worst possible consequences?"]

[Team Rocket Grunt: "Consequences? Ha, that's something for later. We're only responsible for finding it. The people above us can worry about how to use it. But since you're being so uncooperative..."]

Halfway through his sentence, Steven turned around.

The Team Rocket member abruptly took a step back. An exclamation mark appeared above his head; he had clearly recognized Steven.

[Team Rocket Grunt: "It's you?!"]

["Damn it, we'll leave it at that today. But you'd better remember this—when we come back next time, we won't be so polite!"]

The dialogue box closed. After leaving behind that threat, the Team Rocket member turned and ran off, leaving Steven standing there alone.

Immediately afterward, Steven's character automatically turned toward the cave entrance—where Cynthia was standing.

Cynthia's character automatically stepped forward.

[Handed over Devon's Letter!]

[Steven: "...You are? Oh, this letter... Devon Corporation asked you to deliver it, didn't they? Thanks."]

The dialogue continued.

[Steven: "Recently, I've been investigating ancient ruins in caves throughout Hoenn, along with several legends. The situation is far more complicated than I thought. It looks like I'll need more time."]

Cynthia froze for a moment when she heard that.

Investigating ruins?

Wasn't that supposed to be her job?

Did this game's creator have some misunderstanding about Steven?

However, Steven's next line appeared the very next moment.

[Steven: "They say the being from this legend... is made entirely of minerals from head to toe. It's truly fascinating... I can't wait to learn more about it."]

Cynthia: ...

All right, apparently there had been no misunderstanding after all.

..

But Steven's words also made her think of the braille tablet from earlier—"Ahead lies the sealed Eternal Being. Do not continue forward."

The tablet she had seen, the legend he spoke of, and the seal mentioned by Team Rocket...

All three seemed to point to the same thing.

Was it... the being Steven had mentioned... the one made of minerals?

The game dialogue continued to appear.

[Steven: "Oh, right. This is for you. When I went to Sootopolis City before, I got this from a shop there. If you take it to that shop, you can exchange it for some special things. If you get the chance, you should go take a look."]

[Obtained a Mystery Voucher!]

The dialogue box closed, and Steven turned toward the depths of the cave. Before long, he vanished into the darkness.

Cynthia opened her bag and looked at the voucher.

[Mystery Voucher: A special voucher given by Steven. At certain specific locations, it seems it can be exchanged for incredible items.]

At the same time, the chat had already begun discussing it.

[What's this? I never saw it when I played before.]

[Sootopolis City is way later... Come to think of it, what does this item even exchange for?]

[It's probably a new item added in this version of Pokémon Dark Rising. This thing wasn't here before. I think Steven used to give an Evolution Stone or an Egg...]

[Does any expert know?]

No one responded. Clearly, no one in the stream currently knew the item's exact purpose.

Cynthia was somewhat curious as well, but since even the chat did not know, she could only set the matter aside for now.

Once she reached that city, she could see what it was all about.

Nothing major happened during the rest of the exploration. The wild Pokémon deeper in the cave ranged from level sixteen to nineteen, mostly Rock-type and Ground-type Pokémon.

Cynthia began grinding.

After a little over twenty minutes, level-up notifications appeared one after another. The entire team reached level 22, hitting the current cap.

Then it was time to challenge the Gym.

Cynthia checked the team panel, then selected and used an Escape Rope from her bag.

The screen flashed, and her character returned directly to the cave entrance.

Half a minute later, inside Dewford Town's Pokémon Center.

Cynthia walked to the counter and pressed the interaction button. Nurse Joy's dialogue was quickly skipped, and her entire team was restored to full health.

Then, she opened the party screen and checked everyone's held items one by one.

Dottler was holding a Quick Claw, Combusken was holding an Oran Berry, and Mightyena was also holding an Oran Berry.

As for the fourth member, Diglett, its held-item slot was empty because there were currently no suitable items for him to hold.

Then there was Shroomish. It held a Miracle Seed, which could increase the power of Grass-type moves. She had found it on the way back from Petalburg Woods. Shroomish was the only Grass-type on the team, so naturally it went to him.

Lastly came the equally level 22 Feebas...

Cynthia glanced over its stats. Compared with the other members of the team, every one of its attributes was clearly several times lower...

Just as she had thought, Feebas really was not suited for battle...

She moved Feebas to the back of the party and put Dottler in the lead again. After confirming that everything was properly arranged, she closed the menu.

By then, the chat was already getting excited.

[Is the streamer getting ready to challenge the Gym?]

[Brawly is seriously nasty in Insane Mode. Better prepare yourself, hahaha.]

[With this team setup... honestly, it doesn't look too promising.]

Cynthia did not respond to the chat. She simply guided her character out of the Pokémon Center and toward the Gym in the southern part of town.

After entering the Gym, the screen darkened again. Just like in the cave, the visible area was limited to a circle around the character, while everything else was black.

After only a few steps, two Gym NPCs blocked the path.

The first was a Battle Girl, who sent out Makuhita and Machop. Mightyena led, and after Intimidate, two Crunches took them down without any pressure.

The second was a Black Belt, who sent out Mankey and Machop. They were also easily dealt with by Combusken's Aerial Ace.

Each time she defeated a Trainer, the circle of light around her character expanded by one layer, illuminating more ground and pathways.

Like that, Cynthia quickly found the correct route and successfully reached the depths of the Gym.

A shirtless man stood atop a raised platform. His muscles were solid, a headband was tied around his head, and he was doing one-handed push-ups...

The moment he saw Cynthia arrive, the battle began.

[Brawly: "The essence of fighting is constantly surpassing your limits! Come on, let me see where your limit lies!"]

Amid stirring music, countless Poké Balls flashed across the screen.

The game transitioned into the battle screen.

As usual, Cynthia led with Dottler, but when the name of her opponent's Pokémon popped up, she paused in surprise.

[Brawly sent out Combusken lv 22!]

His Pokémon... was Combusken too?

But there was no time to think it over. As the opponent's Combusken took the field, the battle began.

On the first turn, Cynthia immediately selected Reflect.

Although Dottler was at a disadvantage against Combusken, since she had already led with Dottler, she had to at least give it a try and see whether she could get Reflect up.

But the opposing Combusken moved first. Instead of attacking, it began dancing on the battlefield, a crimson, sword-shaped glow surging upward around its body!

[Combusken used Swords Dance!]

[Combusken's Attack rose sharply!]

Right after that, Dottler successfully put up Reflect as well.

Cynthia frowned.

Overall... it was still acceptable.

Combusken had boosted its stats, but Reflect had also gone up on her side. One gain offset the other.

But the next moment, as the turn ended, a dazzling white glow flashed across Combusken's body once more.

[Combusken's Speed Boost activated!]

[Its Speed rose!]

Cynthia froze.

Speed Boost...?

Wasn't Combusken's Ability Blaze...?