What Is... Rocket Spamming?

Inside the internet café, Cynthia looked at the screen, where her own face was displayed.

She instinctively raised a hand to smooth the hair by her ear, unable to understand why the owner had asked her to do this.

Perhaps... he wanted to use her for some kind of promotion?

But judging by how he had acted earlier, he seemed not to recognize her at all.

As Cynthia pondered, she suddenly noticed that the number in the upper-left corner of the screen had changed.

"0" had become "1."

Then, two lines of text floated past her eyes.

This book was first published on Taiwan Novel Network → ⓣⓦⓚⓐⓝ.ⓒⓞⓜ, providing you with error-free, properly ordered chapters for the best reading experience.

[Wait, streamer, you look way too much like Cynthia, don't you?]

[Where did you buy that cosplay outfit? Who did your makeup?]

Cynthia blinked. These should be her viewers speaking...

But she did not quite understand those two messages.

Cosplay? Makeup? What did they mean?

And what did they mean by... she looked like Cynthia?

But I am Cynthia, aren't I?

Before Cynthia could say anything, the number jumped again, and several more people entered the livestream.

[Just got here. Is this livestream set real? Are you in an internet café?]

[I got baited in by the title... holy crap, look what I found. This is the most convincing Cabbage Sis I've ever seen!]

[Hello? Why isn't the streamer talking? Is this AI?]

Cynthia could not help frowning. She recognized every word, yet when put together, she could not understand any of it.

What was AI?

And who was Cabbage Sis?

Cynthia had wanted to ask the viewers some questions, but it seemed they had even more questions than she did.

[Hello? Streamer, are you there?]

[This is AI, right? Confirmed AI.]

[Did this livestream just open today?]

After two seconds of silence, Cynthia turned toward the counter.

"Boss, what does cosplay mean?"

Luo Chen took a sip of water.

"Cosplay? It means imitating a character's appearance and behavior. Basically role-playing..."

Cynthia nodded, then turned back to the screen. She spoke seriously, intending to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Everyone, this isn't... cosplay. I am the real one."

The moment she finished speaking, the chat exploded!

[Sure, sure, we know you're the real one~]

[Yep, yep, you're the real one. We're all Sinnoh Champions here. There are over three hundred Sinnoh Champions in this livestream.]

[Has the streamer lost herself in the act? Pretending not to know what cosplay is...]

[What do you know? That's called staying in character! That's the professional dedication of a veteran cosplayer!]

[So no one thinks the streamer's voice sounds like Cabbage Sis too?? I don't care anymore. Starting today, streamer, you're Cabbage Sis's vessel in the human world!]

[I still think this looks like AI. Streamer, why don't you prove it for me? Nothing hard—just nod, blink, and open your mouth. It'll be quick.]

Cynthia stared at the rapidly scrolling, complicated messages and suddenly paused.

That was true.

These viewers spoke in such a strange manner; they were probably from other regions.

Perhaps Hoenn, or distant Kanto. Those strange expressions were likely popular among young people in those regions.

As for why they did not believe her identity... thinking about it carefully, it would have been stranger if they had simply believed her.

Since that was the case, there was no need to explain further.

She stopped paying attention to the arguments over her identity in the chat and returned her focus to the game.

A middle-aged man appeared on the screen.

Cynthia froze.

Professor Birch...?

[Welcome to the world of Pokémon!]

At the same time, as the game footage appeared, the chat gradually shifted topics.

[Is the streamer playing a game on stream?]

[Ultimate Emerald? Nice, I like this one. Classics never get old.]

[True, I haven't watched it in ages. Perfect time to watch it again.]

[Ultimate Emerald! The game that got me into the series!]

[What do you mean got you into the series? This is clearly the ultimate torture game. Took me three months to clear Insane Mode.]

[The person above seems kind of bad at the game lol.]

Cynthia glanced at the chat.

They seemed to know this game very well?

The phenomenon of young people's gaming preferences... which professor had only recently proposed a research topic on that?

But then again, playing games truly was not one of her interests.

She had come here for clues about the figure on that stone tablet.

She gathered her thoughts and continued following the prompts on the screen.

Gender: female.

Name: "SHIRONA."

Professor Birch's pixel sprite began speaking, introducing the basic rules of this world.

Cynthia patiently listened to the end. The beginner sequence officially began. Leaving the room, crossing the town, and going to the professor's laboratory were all simple enough.

But halfway there, Cynthia suddenly stopped.

Because there was a Pokémon in the grass by the roadside.

Its fur was a mix of black and gray, with round ears and red eyes. It was about the size of a Rattata, and its tail had a similar shape, but the distribution of its fur colors was completely wrong.

So... this was not a Rattata?

She raised an eyebrow.

No.

She suddenly recalled a short article she had read some time ago.

A scholar had proposed a hypothesis that some Pokémon might develop adaptive changes in form due to the long-term effects of their habitat's climate.

That hypothesis had never been proven, but... could this Rattata be such a case?

Cynthia instinctively reached into her bag, took out a notebook and pen, and began sketching the Rattata. Within a few dozen seconds, its outline had come alive on the page.

At that moment, everyone in the livestream noticed what Cynthia was doing.

[Why did the streamer stop? Did it freeze?]

[Haha, this streamer is so serious. Is she taking notes on an Alolan Rattata?]

[No way, she's actually taking notes?]

[Are streamers this competitive now? Does she really have to recreate the character this thoroughly?]

[Recreate... recreate what? Isn't Cynthia a mythologist?]

[It's part of the recreation, part of the recreation. She's also a Champion. It makes sense for her to be interested in Pokémon.]

While drawing, Cynthia looked up at the chat and was immediately puzzled.

Was there something wrong with taking notes too?

After finishing the Rattata's sketch, she continued onward.

Next came the classic beginner tutorial. She saw Professor Birch being chased by a Needle Mouse, and after the corner of her mouth twitched, she stepped forward to help. Then came the part where she chose her starter Pokémon.

Three Pokémon.

Treecko, Marshtomp, and Torchic.

Cynthia hesitated. Fire-type was an attribute she did not have on her team, and it was also the one she understood the least.

In that case... she would choose Torchic.

As she made her choice, the chat began refreshing:

[Ohhh, she picked the fire chick. The one with the best future.]

[Feels worse than... a Rain M Swampert with Pulse moves...]

[Why not use a cheat code to pick Gible? The streamer is Cynthia, so she should pick Gible. Sinnoh Champion paired with Garchomp is practically standard, isn't it?]

[The guy above, first evolution at level twenty-four and final evolution at forty-eight. Before evolving fully, it's basically roadside trash. You want the streamer to die four times?]

[I'm dying. Making her use Gible against the first few Gyms would be worse than just telling her to delete the game.]

While the chat argued, Cynthia continued through the sequence.

She battled the Needle Mouse, won easily, and received Torchic.

She acquired the Pokédex, headed north, encountered wild Pokémon, selected moves, and won her battles.

Then came the first Trainer battle. Her rival stood at the end of the road with a Marshtomp and challenged her, only to be defeated as well.

"You won! But next time, I won't lose again!"

After saying that, the rival on the screen turned and ran away.

Cynthia leaned back in her chair, deep in thought.

She roughly understood the game's battle system now. They took turns making moves, and things like techniques and type advantages were faithfully recreated.

But this game did not allow any room for command decisions. She could only obediently select moves.

And the opponents were too weak. This Trainer called a rival, as well as the Pokémon in the grass, were all low-level. Her Torchic could basically take one out with two Embers.

If she judged it strictly by Champion standards, then it had—no real battle reference value.

Still, this was only a game. She had not come here to improve her tactical ability, but to search for clues about the silhouette on that stone tablet.

Besides that, there was another important point.

The strangely shaped Rattata by the road, the Bug-type Pokémon that had just jumped out of the grass and that she could not recognize at all, and several new Pokémon she could not even classify—every single Pokémon had its own pixel animation, unique cry, and complete Pokédex entry.

The level of completion made it seem as though they truly existed in real-world cases.

At that thought, Cynthia shook her head first.

That could not possibly be true. There must have been someone on the development team with an extremely deep understanding of Pokémon ecology, or they had referenced a vast amount of professional material before creating it—there could be no other explanation.

Yet her gaze still lingered on the Pokédex for a few extra seconds.

Even if it was fake, the feeling of learning about unknown Pokémon was enjoyable.

Meanwhile, the chat also split sharply into two camps.

One group was still discussing her gameplay:

[The streamer's pace is really slow, but for some reason I can actually keep watching...]

[She really is a newbie, right? When she fought her rival, she was still reading the moves before choosing them. She's very serious.]

[Ah, this makes me miss my first time playing Pokémon Emerald. I didn't understand anything, but it was still fun lol.]

The other group began shifting toward a new topic:

[But speaking of which, streamer, you didn't choose a difficulty, did you?]

[Yeah, she should be playing on Normal Mode right now.]

[What's fun about Normal Mode? It's too easy.]

[Pick a hidden difficulty, streamer. Let's go with Insane Mode!]

When Cynthia saw the word "difficulty," she could not help freezing.

There were different difficulties?

Seeing Cynthia's reaction, everyone immediately began egging her on.

[Streamer, you're currently on the default Normal difficulty. The enemies' levels and AI are at their lowest.]

[Yeah, there's also a hidden difficulty called Insane Mode. That's the true Ultimate Emerald experience.]

[If you haven't played Insane Mode, then you haven't played Ultimate Emerald. That's common knowledge.]

[Stop talking nonsense. Is Insane Mode even made for humans?]

[So, streamer, do you dare to pick it?]

By then, the livestream's viewer count had unknowingly risen to over twenty. Those few messages seemed like a signal, and the mood on the screen suddenly changed.

[You're the Sinnoh Champion, streamer. What's a mere hidden difficulty?]

[Pick the hidden difficulty, and we'll spam rockets for you!]

[Yeah, yeah, pick the hidden difficulty! We'll spam rockets for you!!]

[Insane Mode! Insane Mode!]

[Spam rockets! Spam rockets!]

Cynthia noticed that among the flood of messages, one phrase appeared with extraordinary frequency.

She turned toward the counter and asked quietly:

"...What does spamming rockets mean?"

Luo Chen's voice drifted over from behind the counter. He seemed to be holding a towel and trying to wipe down Garchomp's body.

"Rockets are... a kind of gift. If viewers like you, they'll spend money to send them to you. They're pretty expensive."

Garchomp's aura had completely subsided, but it still watched Luo Chen suspiciously, unwilling to go near him.

Cynthia fell silent for a second.

People spent money to send gifts to her? Honestly, she didn't quite understand it.

But the chat seemed to really want her to choose that hidden difficulty...

"What would happen if I chose the hidden difficulty?"

Luo Chen replied,

"Mm... choose carefully. It might be a little difficult at the beginning."

Cynthia thought for a moment.

"Then... would the hidden difficulty let me access the deeper parts of the game faster?"

"Yes."

Having gotten her answer, Cynthia nodded. She glanced at the chat and, following someone's instructions, guided her character back to the room, stood before a book, and pressed the button repeatedly.

Prompts kept appearing.

[1. The combined effort values of an opponent Trainer's Pokémon can reach as high as 1530.]

[2. Opponent Trainers possess enhanced command ability.]

A huge pile of prompts cycled through several times before a red window finally popped up on the screen.

[Are you sure you want to activate "Insane Mode"?]

[Warning: This difficulty is extremely high. It is not recommended for first-time players.]

Cynthia pressed confirm, and the livestream exploded.

[Oh, yes yes yes yes!]

[You guys are such assholes! Assholes!]

[Holy shit, she actually picked it!]

[Streamer, don't regret it! Once you pick this difficulty, you can't change it!]

[Hahahahaha, can't wait to watch the streamer get beaten to tears!]

Watching the jubilant chat, Cynthia felt a little confused.

Why were these people reacting so strongly?

She had only chosen a game difficulty, right?

Didn't the boss just say it would only be a little difficult in the early stages?

No matter what, she was still a Champion...

How hard could a game possibly be?

The instant Cynthia pressed confirm, the screen went dark for a moment.

When the game reloaded, that familiar dirt road appeared before her again. At the end of the road stood a child in shorts—the NPC she had easily defeated earlier.

Without giving it much thought, Cynthia guided her character forward.

Battle began!

Torchic appeared on Cynthia's side.

After the battle with that tough rival earlier, his level had already reached eight.

The opponent sent out that same Poochyena.

As Cynthia selected Ember like she had last time, she recalled the previous battle.

If she remembered correctly, the opponent hadn't even withstood one Ember... Was it level four or level three?

With the difficulty raised, its level would rise too. This time, it should be level five or six, right?

As she pondered, her gaze instinctively shifted to the upper left corner.

The next instant, two lines of text entered her sight—

[Poochyena]

[Lv. 13]

Cynthia: ?