A notification hovered quietly on the screen.
[You found a Scizorite!]
Cynthia stared at it in silence.
Scizor?
Scizorite?
What’s a Scizor, and what exactly was this strange stone supposed to do?
Whenever the game left her completely lost like this, there was usually one reliable solution.
Ask the chat.
Cynthia shifted her gaze toward the messages scrolling along the right side of the screen.
Sure enough, the viewers were already in the middle of an enthusiastic argument.
[MegaFanatic: WHAT?
There’s a Mega Stone hidden here?!]
[GuideReader: Gurl, have you even played this version?
It’s always been here.
That’s Scizorite!]
[XovelisTheDragon: Mega Scizor is fine, I guess, but using your one Mega slot on it feels kind of average.
I’d rather have Mega Swampert.]
[BulletPunchCEO: Say that again after Technician-boosted Bullet Punch removes you from existence.]
[RainTeamMain: Tell it to my rain-boosted Waterfall.]
…
Judging by how casually they were discussing it, the viewers clearly knew exactly what she had found.
Cynthia thought for a moment before asking, “Everyone, what is this used for?”
That immediately produced another flood of explanations.
[MechanicsGeek: You seriously don’t know what a Mega Stone is?
Sinnoh local discovers Kalos technology in real time!]
[MegaFanatic: Mega Evolution is basically a special evolution that happens during battle.
The Pokémon temporarily transforms into an even stronger form.
Officially it’s described as evolution that surpasses evolution.]
[OldSchoolPlayer: Greatest battle mechanic Pokémon ever introduced, by the way.
I refuse to hear arguments.]
[GuideReader: The Pokémon holds its specific Mega Stone, and the Trainer needs a Key Stone.
Then you can Mega Evolve during battle.
That one is Scizorite, so it’s used for Scizor.
You get Scizor by evolving Scyther with a Metal Coat.]
[XovelisTheDragon: You won’t get the Key Stone until later, so for now it’s basically a very shiny paperweight.]
Cynthia carefully read through the explanations, her brow gradually furrowing.
Scyther could evolve again?
That alone was already outside everything she knew.
And Mega Evolution…
An additional evolution?
A Pokémon that had already reached its final evolutionary stage could transform even further?
If Cynthia had encountered that claim anywhere else, she probably would have dismissed it as some game developer’s fantasy without a second thought.
But now…
Her mind returned to the previous night.
She remembered staring at ancient writing that had baffled researchers for generations, only for every symbol to become perfectly understandable the moment she looked at it.
That impossible ability had been real.
So if something as absurd as that could cross over from the internet café into reality…
Could Mega Evolution be more than just a game mechanic too?
Cynthia opened her Bag and quietly stared at the Scizorite icon.
‘Surely this one can’t be real too…’
While Cynthia was lost in thought, the number in the upper-right corner of the livestream had quietly climbed past sixty.
The chat was scrolling noticeably faster now as more unfamiliar usernames entered the room.
As usual, the newcomers took one look at the woman on camera and immediately asked the same questions the original viewers had asked yesterday.
[JustBrowsing88: Wait, why does the streamer look THAT much like Cynthia??]
[CosplayJudge: That cosplay is ridiculously accurate.
I almost believed the title for a second lol.]
[DownBadAgain: MOMMY?!]
The returning viewers immediately welcomed them in their own helpful way.
[NightOwl99: “Looks like”?
She already told us she IS Cynthia.
Please respect the Sinnoh Champion!]
[TrollFace87: Welcome to Cynthia’s stream.
Please follow Cynthia, thank you meow.
Support our hardworking Champion meow.]
…
When Cynthia finally returned her attention to the chat, the screen was filled with people saying she “looked exactly like Cynthia,” calling her a cosplayer, or sarcastically insisting that she really was the Champion.
She pressed her lips together in resignation.
Why did every new viewer refuse to believe her?
Cynthia shook her head.
It did not matter.
Whether they believed her identity was irrelevant.
What mattered was continuing through the game.
Her time today was limited.
After leaving the forest, Cynthia took a boat to Dewford Town.
Blue seawater rolled gently against the docks.
She spent a moment looking around the small island settlement before noticing an NPC fishing beside the shore.
After speaking with him, she received an item.
[You obtained the Old Rod!]
The viewers quickly explained how fishing worked.
Cynthia found an open stretch of shoreline, selected the Old Rod, and cast her line into the water.
Several seconds passed.
Then the rod in her character’s hands suddenly jerked.
Cynthia immediately pressed the button.
Water splashed across the screen as something was pulled from beneath the surface.
A battle began.
The moment the Pokémon appeared, however, both Cynthia and the chat froze.
It was a Feebas.
But unlike an ordinary Feebas, this one had a pale purple body that made it look almost as though it had been poisoned.
Feebas was already rather unfortunate-looking under normal circumstances.
This color somehow managed to make it look even less appealing.
The chat, however, reacted in the exact opposite way Cynthia expected.
[ShinyHunter42: NO FUCKING WAY!
FIRST CAST SHINY?!]
[ProbabilityNerd: SHINY FEEBAS?!
ARE YOU SERIOUS?!]
[SaveFileParanoia: SAVE THE GAME!
SAVE RIGHT NOW!]
[ThirtyHoursDry: Why can you even hook Feebas here?!
I spent half an hour looking for one and got NOTHING.
She casts once?!]
Cynthia stared at the flood of excited messages, completely baffled.
Why were they acting as though something incredible had happened?
“Everyone, Feebas…
isn’t particularly strong in battle, is it?”
She had heard of Shiny Pokémon before.
They were unusually colored members of a species, but aside from the difference in appearance, they were not inherently stronger.
This Feebas was certainly unusual.
If anything, the purple coloration made it look even uglier than normal.
But it was still a Feebas.
The viewers clearly considered that an outrageous thing to say.
[GuideReader: Streamer, you are SO uninformed.
Feebas being weak has nothing to do with Milotic being good!]
[CompetitiveDad: Just catch it.
Once it evolves, you’ll understand why people love it.]
[CommonSensePls: Magikarp is terrible too.
Does that make Gyarados terrible?]
[DramaPoster: From absolute ugliness comes absolute beauty.
And the one who teaches you the secret of Beauty evolution shall be—]
Cynthia’s hand froze over the keyboard.
Milotic?
Feebas could evolve into Milotic?
Her mind immediately went to the large pond behind her own house.
A Feebas lived there.
Cynthia had found it years ago during a walk.
Its appearance had apparently made it undesirable to other Trainers, and someone had abandoned it in a filthy pond.
She could hardly leave it there, so she brought it home and let it live in the pond behind her villa.
Whenever Cynthia went out to feed the Pokémon there, Feebas was usually the quietest of them.
Occasionally it would swim over and rub its rough little head against her hand.
She had never seriously considered training it.
Feebas simply did not possess much battling potential, and the one at her home had never shown much interest in becoming stronger either.
Yet now the chat was telling her…
It could evolve?
Into Milotic?
Cynthia naturally knew Milotic.
Mysterious, powerful, and widely regarded as one of the most beautiful Pokémon in existence.
For reasons no one fully understood, the species was extraordinarily rare.
Cynthia herself had once considered raising one, but even with the resources of the Sinnoh League at her disposal, she had never managed to find one.
As far as she knew, there were only a handful of Trainers in the entire world who owned a Milotic.
Cynthia slowly raised an eyebrow.
Her gaze moved away from the chat and returned to the Level 8 purple Feebas on the screen.
She thought for a moment.
Then, without even bothering to weaken it with Combusken, she threw a Poké Ball.
The ball struck Feebas and pulled it inside.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Click.
The cheerful capture jingle played.
[Gotcha!
Feebas was caught!]
As the game added Feebas to her party, Cynthia looked back toward the chat.
“Feebas really evolves into Milotic?”
She genuinely could not understand how that could be true.
If Feebas evolved into Milotic, surely someone would have discovered the connection long ago.
A Pokémon as rare, beautiful, and powerful as Milotic was famous throughout the world.
The viewers answered immediately.
[GuideReader: Wait, are you actually serious?
It evolves through Beauty!]
[ContestNerd: Basically, raise Feebas’s Beauty condition high enough and it can evolve into Milotic.]
[OldSchoolPlayer: Later you’ll unlock Pokémon Contests and Pokéblocks.
That’s one way to raise Beauty.]
[MechanicsGeek: Depending on the version, you can also evolve it by trading while it holds a Prism Scale.]
Cynthia read through the explanations thoughtfully.
She did not understand what they meant by a Beauty condition or Pokémon Contests, at least not in the context of evolution.
But a Prism Scale…
That was something she had heard of.
It was an unusually rare evolutionary item.
Perhaps she could use her League connections to locate one when she returned home.
For that matter…
Once today’s stream ended, she should probably visit the pond and take another look at her own Feebas.
…
After leaving the docks, Cynthia guided her character north through Dewford Town until she reached the entrance to a cave.
The passage beyond was swallowed by darkness, making it impossible to see very far inside.
A Hiker wearing a helmet stood near the entrance.
As Cynthia approached, dialogue triggered automatically.
[“The cave ahead is extremely dark.
Without having a Pokémon use Flash, you’ll barely be able to see where you’re going!”]
[You obtained TM Flash!]
The chat immediately began offering advice.
[GuideReader: Flash won’t help yet.
You can’t use it outside battle until you beat the Dewford Gym.]
[WeekendGamer: Just go in for now.
It’s a decent place to level up.]
Cynthia nodded and entered Granite Cave.
…
The screen darkened almost instantly.
Most of the cave was completely black, with only a tiny circle of faint light surrounding her character and revealing perhaps two or three tiles in any direction.
The viewers immediately began trying to guide her.
Unfortunately, too many people gave directions at once.
[LeftTurnOnly: Go right.
There’s a path that loops around.]
[MapMemoryBad: Go up first, then turn left when you reach the rock.
Super easy.]
[KeyboardWarrior: RIGHT!
GO RIGHT!]
Cynthia glanced at the conflicting directions and shook her head slightly.
“Everyone, you don’t need to take care of me that much.
I’m not going to get lost that easily.”
She had explored more ancient ruins and underground caverns than most people ever would in their lives.
Surely she could navigate a cave in a video game.
Besides, slowly exploring an unfamiliar place was part of the enjoyment.
Cynthia began moving through the darkness on her own.
The small pool of light beneath her character drifted along the cave floor.
After only a few steps, a Level 16 Zubat burst from the darkness.
The screen shifted into battle.
Cynthia led with Mightyena.
[Mightyena’s Intimidate activated!]
[Zubat’s Attack fell!]
Mightyena growled and followed with Crunch.
Zubat’s HP disappeared instantly.
The battle ended.
Just as Cynthia expected, the stronger wild Pokémon in this area provided much better experience.
After that single fight, both Mightyena and Shroomish gained a level.
She continued deeper into the cave.
A Poké Ball tucked into one corner contained an Escape Rope.
Not long afterward, she encountered a Machop, which Mightyena dispatched with another Crunch.
Once the viewers realized Cynthia intended to find the route herself, most of the backseat navigation gradually stopped.
Several minutes passed.
Then someone noticed something.
[MapMemoryBad: Wait…
didn’t she already walk past this spot?]
[PixelCounter: I thought it looked familiar.
That’s the second time, right?]
[ObsessiveViewer: THIRD.
I’ve been watching the rock.
SHE HAS PASSED THE SAME ROCK THREE TIMES.]
The chat immediately became suspicious.
[KeyboardWarrior: Streamer…
are you lost?]
Cynthia stared at the screen.
Silence lasted for several seconds.
“…”
Then she nodded.
“Yes.”
The chat exploded.
[NightOwl99: I thought she was deliberately grinding.
SHE WAS ACTUALLY LOST.]
[HistoryMajorDropout: THE ARCHAEOLOGIST GOT LOST IN A CAVE HAHAHAHA.]
[ScreenshotGuy: I saved the clip of her confidently saying she wouldn’t get lost.
This is going in the archives forever!]
Cynthia attempted a perfectly serious explanation.
“Normally, when I explore places like this, Spiritomb uses Will-O-Wisp to light the area.
It also helps me keep track of direction.”
“But right now…
Spiritomb isn’t here, and I genuinely can’t see very well, so…”
She paused.
“…I lost my sense of direction.”
The chat did not believe a word of it.
[TrollFace87: Yep.
Totally believable.jpg]
[AnimeRewatchGuy: I feel like the actual Cynthia wouldn’t get lost.
Elite-level excuse making, though.]
[PoorSpiritomb: Spiritomb catching strays for no reason.]
Cynthia sighed at the messages.
‘I am the actual Cynthia…
and I really did get lost.’
Fortunately, the viewers now returned to giving directions.
The instructions were still somewhat chaotic, but taken together they were at least useful.
With the chat’s help, Cynthia eventually found the correct ladder and descended to the third level of Granite Cave.
The stone here was darker than on the floors above, almost black, yet oddly enough the area was slightly easier to see.
Tiny points of colored light glittered across the cave walls, resembling mineral deposits.
Cynthia had only walked a short distance when she stopped.
There was a stone tablet embedded in the wall ahead.
She approached almost instinctively and pressed the interaction button.
A line of unfamiliar symbols appeared.
They were arranged in dense patterns of raised dots.
The chat immediately began discussing them.
[HistoryBuff77: That’s Braille, right?
Pretty sure this section uses Braille.]
[GuideReader: Yeah.
It’s connected to the Regis.
The original games used Braille for the clues to their seals.]
[TrollFace87: Make the streamer read it.
She keeps saying she’s an archaeologist, right?
LMAO.]
[NormalHumanBeing: Who the hell can read Braille just by looking at it anyway?]
Cynthia did not look at the chat.
Her eyes remained fixed on the pattern of raised dots.
Then the same sensation she had experienced the previous night returned.
The symbols stopped being meaningless.
Their meaning entered her mind effortlessly.
Cynthia spoke under her breath before she even realized she was doing it.
“…An eternal being is sealed beyond this point.
Do not proceed any farther.”
The chat went silent for half a second.
[NightOwl99: ???]
[KeyboardWarrior: She just made that up, right?]
[OldSaveFile: I never actually looked up what this says when I was a kid.
Anybody know?]
[HistoryBuff77: Hang on.
I’m checking a Braille chart…]
Several seconds passed.
Then the same username posted again.
[HistoryBuff77: WHAT THE FUCK?]