Then what about my bond??(4k)

Meanwhile, after Luo Chen had just finished stressing to the two dragons that they were not allowed to get jealous and fight in the internet café, he took a sip of water to soothe his throat—only to overhear Iono and Lance's conversation, nearly spraying the water everywhere.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

He could not help turning to look in Iono and Lance's direction.

It seemed the situation in Iono's world was rather special...

This plot was even wilder than the Pokémon Adventures storyline... Even something as absurd as Lance defecting from the Pokémon League had happened.

After all, in Pokémon Adventures, he had only infiltrated Team Rocket as an undercover agent in order to deal with them.

Though, now that he thought about it, several Elite Four members in Pokémon Adventures really had been Team Rocket members...

No, that was not the point.

The point was that Iono's world and the world he was currently in did not seem to be worlds from the original story.

In other words, these were probably parallel worlds with plots completely different from the original. The guests the communicator could bring in later would likely come from all sorts of strange worlds as well...

He wondered whether he would get a chance to meet Ash and Pikachu if this continued.

As Luo Chen pondered, Lance's expression became extremely complicated. He stared at Iono, the corner of his mouth twitching, unsure what to say for a moment.

So this little girl's reaction upon seeing him had not been admiration at all. She had been completely terrified of him?

No, how could he possibly have done those ridiculous things?

"Miss, who told you that? I, Lance, am an upright man. I would never do anything to betray the Pokémon League or the public!"

He stood and spoke with a serious expression.

Iono nodded frantically.

"I... I believe you. I-it wasn't you..."

"Um, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back first...?"

Lance: ...

Forget it. He would not explain anymore.

No matter what he said, she probably would not believe him...

Which bastard had dared spread such outrageous rumors about him?

Just as the atmosphere became somewhat awkward, Luo Chen walked out from behind the counter, past the two dragons.

"All right, Lance. Don't make things difficult for her."

"She's different from you. She comes from another world, where history developed completely differently from ours. So the Lance in that world might really have done something like that."

Lance froze upon hearing that.

Another world?

Luo Chen turned to Iono again and patted her shoulder.

"You don't need to worry. I guarantee that he's a good person."

"And you're absolutely safe in the internet café. Don't worry."

Only after Luo Chen said that did Iono's expression ease slightly.

What no one knew was that, at the same time...

In the depths of the Hoenn sea.

Above the vast, surging ocean, countless Remoraid, Luvdisc, and Magikarp swam between the coral reefs. Occasionally, a few Tentacool could be seen drifting leisurely through the currents.

The entire sea looked peaceful and tranquil, like a paradise for Water-type Pokémon.

Yet the next second, these ocean Pokémon seemed to sense something. They scattered in all directions almost simultaneously and quickly vanished.

Then, the currents beside the coral reef suddenly began churning violently. A massive submarine slowly emerged from the deep sea, its shadow covering the entire area.

The submarine had a dark gray, rust-covered hull. On the side of its conning tower, a blue-and-white emblem was clearly visible.

Inside the submarine, before the control console.

Several people dressed in blue-and-white uniforms stood before a screen displaying a detailed map of Slateport City. Every street and every building had been clearly marked.

One of the men reached out and tapped a building on the map. A red marker appeared at the corresponding location and began flashing continuously.

"Have you confirmed the location of the Oceanic Museum?"

The person standing at the front spoke in a low voice.

"Sir, confirmed. We can begin the operation as soon as we surface."

One of his subordinates immediately replied.

"Very good."

The man turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"We move tonight. Once we get the documents, withdraw immediately. Don't leave behind any traces."

"And what about the Slateport Shipyard?"

A skinny man immediately raised his hand and answered.

"Sir, everything over there is ready as well. We'll act together tonight!"

As he spoke, he suddenly began laughing, looking extremely pleased with himself.

"Those idiots from the Pokémon League will never guess that we'd strike a place like this, much less what we're after."

"Ha ha, when they wake up tomorrow morning and see the news, they'll probably just be completely baffled."

He walked to the control console and pulled down a lever. The lights in the cockpit flickered a few times.

The enormous submarine began diving deeper, gradually blending into the darkness of the deep sea until it vanished completely.

Meanwhile, Cynthia's game progress continued.

After returning to the path she had taken earlier, the Team Aqua members blocking the way had indeed all disappeared.

She first challenged several Trainers by the roadside on the left, then used Cut to chop down the tree above and obtain some Berries.

Then, following the livestream chat's reminders, she went to the Trick House above and spent several minutes solving the maze, receiving the old man's reward.

[Obtained a Rare Candy!]

Cynthia's gaze fell on the candy icon, and she looked thoughtful.

The Rare Candy she had pulled from her camera blind box last time looked exactly the same as this one in the game.

In other words, every item that appeared in the game might be given out as a reward in reality?

Including the Potion and Soda Pop she had thought about today...

Even that Sealed Urn?

After thinking briefly, Cynthia gently shook her head.

There was no point thinking about it now. She would observe the results after the next few reward settlements.

If that really was the case, it would be incredible...

Putting those thoughts aside, Cynthia guided her character out of the room and headed right, stepping onto a fairly long bridge. At the far end of the bridge was a cycling path that seemed to require a bicycle to reach the next city.

Without a bicycle, she could only obediently take the road across the bridge.

There were not only patches of grass on the bridge, but also some roadside Trainers.

Cynthia did not mind. Her team was still far from the current level cap, so fighting a few more battles would only be beneficial.

However, after only taking a few steps, she noticed that the chat suddenly began flooding with messages.

[It's coming!]

[Holy crap, this place was my childhood nightmare!]

[The streamer is in for a treat!]

Cynthia could not help but pause in confusion. Before she could understand what the chat was talking about, a familiar figure ran over from the other end of the bridge and blocked her path.

[Rival: It's you! Long time no see. You and your Pokémon both look like you've grown stronger!!]

[Rival: Then let me show you how much I've improved too. Let's battle!]

Amid stirring music, countless Poké Balls streaked across the screen. The battle was about to begin!

Seeing the game shift into the battle screen, Cynthia finally understood what the chat had meant.

She recalled her previous battle against this Rival in the starting town. Although he had chosen Mudkip, which countered her, his battling skills had truly been average. He did not even know to actively use super-effective moves and used Growl several times, as though he had been holding back.

Though she had not changed the game's difficulty back then, it was now in Insane Mode.

Still, as a beginner guide character, he should not be that difficult... right?

Thinking of how she had been instantly defeated by a Shorts Boy right after leaving home, Cynthia suddenly realized that she was not so sure.

In that case, she should take this seriously.

Taking a deep breath, Cynthia directly sent out Dottler as the lead Pokémon.

On the opponent's side, as a Poké Ball was thrown, a Pelipper appeared on the field as well.

Almost at the exact moment Pelipper appeared, a prompt suddenly popped up at the top of the screen.

[Pelipper's Drizzle activated!]

[The weather became Rain!]

The screen instantly darkened, and fine raindrops began falling continuously across the battlefield.

The sight made Cynthia pause again.

Changing... the weather?

In the real world, it was extremely difficult to change the weather through a Pokémon's power. Even Pokémon at the Elite Four or Champion level could only alter the surrounding temperature and environment within a small area, and they could easily be affected by their opponents. It was simply impossible for them to make it rain across the area the instant they appeared like this.

But considering that this was a game, it somehow seemed reasonable.

Still, this Drizzle...

What Ability was that?

Was it another hidden one?

That said, now was not the time to think about that.

Although Dottler was important for setting up screens, Pelipper was a Flying type. Based on her previous experience, Dottler probably could not withstand even a single move.

She decisively switched Pokémon and sent out Mightyena.

Its Intimidate activated, lowering Pelipper's Attack by one stage.

Pelipper immediately retaliated with Wing Attack. Its white wings struck Mightyena, but because its Attack had been lowered, it did not take away much of his health.

Cynthia watched the number of Pokémon her opponent had while making her judgment.

Her opponent had four Pokémon, while she had five. Even if she had given up a turn, it was still an acceptable opening.

Then next... she would battle seriously.

Yet beyond Cynthia's expectations, the battle that followed was extremely grueling.

Although Pelipper's Attack had been lowered, it clearly was not a physical attacker. A Water Gun in return directly took away half of Mightyena's health.

After that, Cynthia relied on Mightyena's sacrifice to barely wear Pelipper down to less than half health, then sent out Combusken to finish off the opponent's Pelipper.

The opponent immediately switched in a level 26 Marshtomp, which had clearly evolved from that Mudkip.

Faced with the absolute type disadvantage, Cynthia did not hesitate. She switched in Feebas as a sacrifice to gain a free switch, then brought in Shroomish on the next turn to target the Marshtomp, which was four times weak to it.

But likewise, against Shroomish, the opponent switched in a Beedrill...

In the repeated back-and-forth, Cynthia barely found an opportunity to successfully set up both screens with Dottler and defeat every one of the opponent's Pokémon except Marshtomp.

But her side had suffered heavily as well. Of her entire team, only the final Combusken could continue fighting. The others had all fainted.

Thus, as Beedrill fell, Marshtomp, the final Pokémon, took the field. The situation became a one-on-one between Combusken and Marshtomp.

Combusken was at full health, while Marshtomp had two-thirds of its health remaining.

Cynthia quickly began calculating.

There were still three turns of both screens remaining. With the damage reduction in place, neither Mud Shot nor Water Gun could possibly one-shot her Combusken.

And she held an absolute advantage in Speed. As long as Double Kick hit twice, the battle would be over.

Without hesitation, she clicked Double Kick. The battle began!

On the first turn, Combusken kicked first. The first hit of the double kick landed, causing Marshtomp's HP bar to flash yellow. The second hit drove it directly below one-third.

Marshtomp retaliated with Mud Shot, and the prompt for a super-effective hit appeared!

But because Reflect reduced the damage, Combusken still had one final third of his health left.

Cynthia's eyes narrowed.

She would move first next turn. Victory was certain.

She had already identified the item Marshtomp was holding during the battle: Soft Sand, the same item as Dugtrio's.

There was no Focus Sash, no chance for a sudden recovery. There was no possibility of her losing.

At the same time, as Cynthia clicked her move, the chat began flooding the screen.

[No way, she's winning already? First try?]

[This Rival is way too weak...]

[I think the streamer's plays have been pretty good too... Winning is normal. Besides, she has one more Pokémon than him.]

Amid the discussion, Combusken had already moved first on the screen.

The first hit of Double Kick landed, and Marshtomp's HP bar instantly dropped into the red!

The second kick struck!

Marshtomp's HP bar fell again, seemingly about to vanish.

However...

When only the last sliver of red health remained, the HP bar suddenly stopped moving!

Cynthia froze.

Why did this feel so familiar? Combusken had done the same thing with a Focus Sash before... But where had Marshtomp gotten a Focus Sash?

As her mind raced, the Rival suddenly appeared beside Marshtomp in the game!

A dialogue box popped up.

"Marshtomp, hang in there!"

Immediately afterward, a red prompt suddenly appeared.

[Feeling the bond between herself and her Trainer, Marshtomp miraculously withstood the attack!]

[Is this the bond between a Trainer and a Pokémon?]

Then, with only a sliver of HP left, Marshtomp once again sprayed Combusken with brown sludge!

[Marshtomp used Mud Shot!]

[It was super effective!]

Combusken's HP instantly dropped to zero.

[Combusken fainted.]

[Everything went dark before your eyes.]

Cynthia: ???

Was this game not even trying to hide it anymore?

A Trainer shouted "Watch out," and the Pokémon suddenly got locked at one HP, then they called it a bond...

Then what about the bond between Combusken and me??