The Streamer Finally Got Smart! (5k)

The next instant, a black shadow shot out of that twisted darkness like lightning, charging straight at Cynthia!

It was a slender, humanoid figure, completely white, with strange black tissue on its head and the tips of its limbs. Dazzling blue electricity crackled all over its body!

The figure moved with incredible speed, closing in almost instantly!

Cynthia instinctively held her breath.

However, just before the violent current could swallow the screen, another silver-white flash shot out from beside her!

Bang!

A sleek, silver-white Pokémon slammed into the figure like a silver bolt of lightning, sending it flying through the air!

It crashed into a distant tree trunk with a piercing shriek, then sprang back to its feet and leaped into the Ultra Wormhole amid frenzied electricity. The twisted light flashed, and the opening closed.

A blond-haired young man stepped into the frame and stopped in front of Cynthia's character.

[Gladion: "Hey, are you all right? Stay away from the Ultra Wormhole. These guys aren't something you can handle yet. Don't come near here for now!"]

["If you want to enter the Ultra Wormhole... you need at least some strength, or it'll be dangerous!"]

The boy coldly tossed out those words, then chased after the Ultra Beast with the silver Pokémon, disappearing into the Ultra Wormhole as well.

The chat began scrolling.

[This seems different from the original plot again? When was this updated?]

[My brother-in-law can actually be this cool?]

[That was Xurkitree just now, right?]

Cynthia looked at the empty woodland, seeming to ponder something.

That Ultra Beast's appearance... why did it feel so familiar?

She frowned slightly, her mind racing. A slender humanoid body, black-and-white coloration, strange conductive tissue...

She thought for a few seconds but found no answer.

...It was probably a coincidence.

She set the thought aside and controlled her character to continue.

After leaving the area and passing through the town to the left, Cynthia arrived in Petalburg City.

It was a peaceful city surrounded by lush greenery, clearly much larger than Oldale Town. Its architecture carried a simple, rustic sense of everyday life.

Crossing the stone-paved road, her character automatically headed straight for the conspicuous Gym building.

Upon entering the Gym, a tall young man with a steady expression came forward to greet her.

This was the Gym Leader, Norman. In the game, he was also the protagonist's biological father.

A dialogue box appeared. After greeting her, Norman began explaining the various requirements for official Gym battles.

[Norman: "In formal Gym battles and official League battles, there are several rules you must remember. You may not use healing items from your Bag during battle; Pokémon may not hold identical items; additionally, certain rule-restricted Pokémon cannot be used..."]

Cynthia nodded slightly after reading it.

With these rules in place, the game's difficulty had undoubtedly risen another level.

Being unable to use items during battle meant that every Pokémon's HP and condition had to be carefully calculated. Not being able to equip identical items forced Trainers to understand the use of every item more comprehensively.

But what concerned her was the last rule—certain rule-restricted Pokémon could not be used?

What did that refer to? Beings like those Ultra Beasts that had appeared earlier?

As for Norman himself...

Cynthia searched through her memories.

There did seem to be a Gym Leader like him in the Hoenn region, but her knowledge of Hoenn was limited to information from the League database. She had never even seen him in person.

But if that was the case, had this game recreated the identities of every Gym Leader in the Hoenn region?

Then what about the Elite Four and the Champion?

Had reality been recreated too?

The image of an old acquaintance inevitably surfaced in Cynthia's mind.

Could it be that, in the end... she would have to battle her in the game?

As she pondered, the plot continued playing automatically. A boy rushed into the Gym, declaring that he wanted to catch a starter Pokémon.

After helping the boy named Wally successfully catch Ralts, Cynthia did not linger and continued onward into Petalburg Woods.

The moment she entered the forest, the light dimmed.

Cynthia was observing the interwoven trees when the chat suddenly began prompting her:

[Streamer, try pressing the interact button on that big tree in front of you!]

Interact with the tree?

Though somewhat puzzled, Cynthia did as instructed.

With her input, a soft chime rang out and a prompt instantly appeared!

[Obtained an Antidote!]

[Put the Antidote in the Bag.]

The chat immediately explained:

[There are hidden items everywhere in this game. They can spawn in trees or behind rocks.]

[If you see an empty patch suddenly appear in the grass, go over and press the button on that empty spot. There's usually something there.]

[Right, don't miss those Poké Balls on the ground either. They all contain items, so remember to pick them up.]

"Thanks."

Cynthia silently remembered the information and continued deeper into the forest.

The Pokémon appearing in Petalburg Woods were mostly Bug- and Grass-types. After the difficulty increase, the wild Pokémon in the forest were clearly much higher-leveled, generally around level fourteen.

However, thanks to type advantage, Torchic still handled them easily.

Since it could no longer gain experience, Cynthia also began actively avoiding the grass.

Before long, she encountered her first roadside Trainer—a Bug Catcher.

He had three Caterpie, all of which looked completely harmless.

But the moment the battle began, Cynthia sensed that something was off.

The first two Caterpie were fragile, but every attack they used was String Shot, continuously lowering Torchic's Speed.

When the third Caterpie came out, it actually threw a clump of dark gray powder!

[Caterpie used Sleep Powder!]

[Torchic fell asleep!]

[Torchic is asleep and cannot attack!]

The previous String Shots had already cut Torchic's Speed by more than half. It had been slow to act already, yet now it had been put to sleep before it could move.

Worse still, it remained asleep for three straight turns, nearly causing her to lose.

He finally woke up and used Ember, successfully taking down the opponent.

After that battle, Cynthia realized two things.

First, in this game, rises and drops in stat stages seemed far more important than they were in reality.

Second... at this difficulty, she could not afford to underestimate any roadside Trainer.

She began taking every battle seriously. She returned to the Pokémon Center three times along the way before finally defeating every Trainer in the forest.

Halfway through, a new plot event was triggered.

A bespectacled Devon Corporation employee approached her.

[I'm looking for a rare Pokémon... Have you seen a Shroomish?]

No sooner had he spoken than a man dressed like a pirate suddenly rushed out and snatched the package from the Devon employee's hands.

[Team Aqua Grunt: "Haha! We'll be taking this!"]

Cynthia raised an eyebrow as the game entered battle.

The opponent only had a Zubat. Though its level was not low, she got lucky this time—both Supersonics missed. Torchic encountered little resistance and easily ended the battle with three Embers.

Leaving the package behind, the NPC fled in panic, even throwing out a parting threat.

["Just you wait! Team Aqua won't let you get away with this!"]

Cynthia watched his retreating figure, deep in thought.

Team Aqua? What kind of organization was that?

...She had never heard of it.

Could it be... a villainous faction created for the game?

That made sense. Movies and television shows all had villains; games should be the same, right?

Meanwhile, the Devon employee repeatedly thanked her and told her to visit the Devon Corporation in Rustboro City later, promising to reward her handsomely.

Once the plot ended, Cynthia prepared to continue onward and leave the forest.

However, as she had no choice but to cross a patch of grass, the screen suddenly went black.

A Pokémon that had never appeared before stood opposite Cynthia.

Its mushroom-like body was covered in spots. It was small, and it wore a rather unhappy expression.

Shroomish?

Cynthia froze.

She knew this Pokémon, but the problem was... hadn't that Devon employee just said it was a rare Pokémon?

At the same time, the livestream chat erupted:

[Holy crap, what kind of luck does the streamer have? She actually got one?]

[I remember running around for half an hour and never finding one... The streamer encountered it the moment she walked over?!]

[Streamer, catch it! It's useful, and you can use it at the Gym soon!]

Cynthia glanced at the chat, then at the Shroomish before her. After considering it, she immediately made her decision.

Since this game seemed to encourage players to constantly improve and expand their teams, she would need to acquire new Pokémon sooner or later.

Shroomish... could make up for some of Torchic's weaknesses in terms of type matchups. It was a good choice.

After lowering Shroomish's HP with one Peck, Cynthia selected a Poké Ball and threw it.

The red-and-white ball shook three times before stopping with a pleasant notification sound.

[Congratulations! You caught Shroomish!]

[New information has been recorded in the Pokédex!]

After catching Shroomish in a single ball, Cynthia did not rush onward. Instead, she opened the panel to inspect the mushroom Pokémon's stats and moves.

Of course, what she cared about most... was the "Ability" section.

A line of information entered her sight.

[Ability "Effect Spore": When hit by a contact move, there is a chance of inflicting one of three status conditions on the opponent: paralysis, poison, or sleep.]

Cynthia could not help feeling surprised.

It was completely... correct.

It seemed that the creator's grasp of basic knowledge regarding Abilities was indeed acceptable.

Petalburg Woods' path was not complicated, and before long, she successfully left the forest.

She spotted an NPC standing beside two berry trees at the roadside and immediately walked up to press the interact button.

With her previous experience, she already understood that talking to roadside NPCs might earn her items.

Sure enough, after a brief conversation, she successfully obtained an item.

[TM09—Bullet Seed]

The chat sighed with emotion:

[The streamer got smart. We don't even need to teach her anymore.]

[So proud. The streamer has grown up.]

[Streamer, there's a watering can for planting Berries in the room on the left. Don't forget to take it.]

Cynthia followed their advice and took the watering can from the flower shop. Then she opened her Bag to look at the item she had just acquired.

A green disc appeared before her.

[TM09—Bullet Seed]

[Type: Grass Power: 25 Physical]

[The user shoots a stream of seeds at the target, sometimes striking multiple times.]

She knew this move... but what was this disc?

Cynthia tried using it. The screen immediately switched to the party menu. Above Torchic were the words "Unable to learn," while above Shroomish were the words "Can learn!"

She seemed to realize something and immediately selected Shroomish to use it.

The next moment, the disc vanished, and a new move appeared directly in Shroomish's move list—"Bullet Seed"!

Her guess confirmed, Cynthia raised an eyebrow.

This thing could actually directly teach Pokémon new moves!

Such efficiency... was practically something Trainers could only dream of...

Unfortunately, such things did not exist in reality.

That little interlude soon ended. After passing through the forest, Cynthia finally arrived at the next city—Rustboro City.

Similar to what she remembered, it was a massive city built against the mountains. Its red rooftops gleamed beneath the sunlight, brimming with the feel of modern industry.

She did not linger in the city. After recovering at the PC, she headed straight for the Gym entrance.

Before pushing open the door, she habitually checked her team's condition: Torchic was Lv. 15, Shroomish was Lv. 12, and both were in perfect condition.

Fully prepared, Cynthia pushed open the Gym door.

The chat immediately became lively as well:

[Here we go!]

[Streamer, are you really going to challenge it with only two Pokémon?]

[I'm already laughing.]

The inside of the Gym was a grand rocky arena.

Her first opponent was a Hiker with a level 14 Geodude.

When the battle began, Cynthia did not have Torchic attack. Instead, she immediately switched to Shroomish, took a Tackle, and used Bullet Seed on the second turn.

[It hit five times!]

[It was super effective!]

Geodude went down directly under the barrage of attacks.

As the victory jingle played, the chat began flooding in.

[It's over, the streamer actually got smart.]

[I thought she'd desperately try to barbecue Geodude with Ember, then ask us why the damage was so low... My faith has been shattered.]

[I've only been watching for a minute, so can someone explain—is the streamer really a beginner?]

[To the person above, the streamer is Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion. Stop asking.]

[Don't rush, this is only the beginning... You know what? The hardest thing right now is holding back our laughter.]

Amid the flying comments, Cynthia nodded and came to a conclusion.

This game really was encouraging players to build their own teams to handle different situations.

For example, this Gym appeared to specialize in Rock-types, so Petalburg Woods beforehand had been arranged as an area where players could catch plenty of Grass-type Pokémon to deal with it. This was probably a deliberate, thoughtful design choice by the creators.

Since... she already had Shroomish, the leader of this Rock-type Gym... should be easy enough to handle, right?

Thinking that, she guided her character deeper into the Gym.

On a raised rocky platform, she saw a girl wearing a gray puffed skirt and red tights.

[Welcome to Rustboro Gym. I'm the Gym Leader, Roxanne!]

[The sturdy, powerful hearts of Rock-type Pokémon—now let me show them to you!]

Amid intense electronic music, the battle began instantly!

This time, Cynthia sent out Shroomish first. Since this was a Rock-type Gym, leading with a Grass-type would naturally give her an advantage.

The Pokémon Roxanne sent out, meanwhile, was a strange-looking turtle with a hard black shell on its back.

[Roxanne sent out Carracosta Lv. 16!]

Cynthia did not recognize this Pokémon, but she could see the type icons in the upper-right corner—Water + Rock!

That combination was four times weak to Grass, so Cynthia selected Bullet Seed without hesitation.

In the game, Shroomish began wildly spitting seeds like bullets.

However, just as the seeds were about to hit, a flash of white light appeared.

A little goat appeared on the battlefield.

[Roxanne sent out Skiddo!]

Cynthia froze.

She seemed to have seen this Pokémon in the grass along the road earlier. It appeared to be a Grass-type.

So this was a countermeasure the Gym Leader had specifically prepared to make up for the Rock-type's two greatest weaknesses—Grass and Water?

This kind of tactic was not uncommon among high-level Trainers. Trainers who specialized in a particular type would always seek ways to address that type's weaknesses.

Still... looking at the Skiddo across from her, Cynthia was not worried.

Her Torchic was a Fire-type. As long as she switched to Torchic, she could counter this thing.

Moreover, switching Pokémon meant the opponent would waste this turn and take a free Bullet Seed. This was still an advantageous position for her.

As Cynthia considered her options, Bullet Seed struck Skiddo squarely in the body.

But in the next moment, something Cynthia could not understand happened.

That attack did not deal Skiddo any damage at all.

Not only that... a red light suddenly flared across its body!

[Skiddo's "Sap Sipper" activated!]

[Skiddo's Attack rose!!]

Cynthia froze.

Sap Sipper... what was that?

Before she could think further, the Bullet Seed fired by Shroomish began hitting again!

Red flashes accompanied by notifications kept popping up.

[Sap Sipper activated, Attack rose!]

Again!

[Sap Sipper activated, Attack rose!]

Five hits, five notifications.

She looked at that string of messages, then at Skiddo's completely untouched HP bar.

And at the huge red arrow behind its HP bar.

—[Attack +5]

Cynthia: "...?"