Chapter 169: Mysterious NPC, Different Story Nodes??

"So... in our world, there could be several of these Regi Titans that might awaken at any moment?" Lance's question hung in the air.

Both ends of the phone line fell silent for a moment.

Cynthia spoke first, breaking the silence.

"That possibility definitely exists. It seems we have even more reason to keep playing. Not just to investigate these anomalies, but also to gain access to that legendary power. We need to become stronger, whether in the game or in reality, to handle potential problems that might occur in the real world."

"Agreed." Lance sounded enthusiastic about the idea. "Information and strength. Neither can be compromised. I need to find a way to improve myself quickly. I'm still stuck on the gym, and I absolutely have to get my hands on that Type: Null!"

"Right, I can't fall too far behind either," Cynthia said. "I've run into some new developments on my end that I need to handle. Let's stay in touch and communicate any new discoveries immediately."

After hanging up, Cynthia refocused her attention on the game screen.

Her character had just received a text message in-game from "Steven," alerting her that Team Aqua had been frequently active in an abandoned maritime industrial zone north of Lilycove City. They seemed to have established a new temporary base and were possibly plotting something.

Without hesitation, Cynthia immediately commanded her character to use Fly to reach Lilycove, then used Surf heading north from the city. Sure enough, deep within what appeared to be a desolate sea industrial district, she discovered a concealed entrance with a faint Team Aqua emblem nearby.

She infiltrated inside. The interior consisted of winding metal corridors, damp with moisture and stained with oil residue. Unlike that previous island, this place hadn't been abandoned. Team Aqua members occasionally patrolled, forcing Cynthia to battle her way through.

These team members' Pokémon were noticeably higher level than the wild ones outside, but they weren't much trouble compared to her main team.

The base was larger and more complex than expected, with numerous sections that required solving simple puzzles to progress. Operating mechanical arms to move crates, using Strength to push stone mechanisms, finding key cards to open electronic doors.

Along the way, she noticed warehouses stacked with strange components and metal sheets. In a massive drydock-like area, she even spotted a huge, incomplete submarine mechanical skeleton that looked like a prototype. Clearly, Team Aqua was secretly constructing something massive. Or perhaps... had already completed it.

Cynthia carefully observed her surroundings as she continued deeper, eventually reaching the entrance to what looked like a command room or executive lounge. She faintly heard voices inside. Pushing the door open, the view refreshed.

Inside the room, several Team Aqua members stood respectfully to the side. Seated in the main position with his back to the door was not the Team Aqua leader she'd expected, but a man in a brown suit with a stocky frame and slicked-back hair.

The man appeared to be conversing with a Team Aqua executive, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority.

The dialogue box began to appear.

"...So your progress is still too slow. This efficiency cannot meet both our expectations," the man in the suit said.

The Team Aqua executive seemed nervous. "I-I'm terribly sorry! But the materials and technology side of things..."

At that moment, Cynthia's character moved slightly and accidentally knocked over an empty bucket by the door, creating a loud metallic clang.

"Who?!" Everyone in the room immediately became alert, their gazes snapping toward the entrance.

This situation was clearly unavoidable, so Cynthia simply had her character walk in casually.

The people in the room immediately entered a state of vigilance. The man in the suit slowly turned around. Though it was pixel art, Cynthia could still see a face weathered by time yet full of authority and menace, his eyes gleaming sharply. Even though he was simply gazing calmly at Cynthia's character, she felt an invisible pressure extending from the screen into her own space.

Moreover, he wasn't wearing a Team Aqua uniform. Just a suit.

"Oh? Looks like we have an uninvited guest." The man spoke, his voice deep and magnetic. He didn't seem panicked. Rather, as if he'd found something amusing.

He turned to the Team Aqua executives beside him who were on high alert and spoke coolly.

"So, Team Aqua... is this how you treat guests? You let someone like this slip through?"

Cynthia frowned.

Who was this person? His aura was so extraordinary that he was definitely no ordinary NPC, yet he wasn't Team Aqua either.

But for a character to be a guest in a Team Aqua base... he definitely wasn't a good person!

She had her character step forward, a Poké Ball in hand, appearing ready for battle.

The man in the suit seemed to see through her intentions. He slowly stood up, adjusted his tie, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"What, you want to fight? Young people are always so reckless."

Before his words even finished, he didn't even consult with the Team Aqua executives. He simply threw out a Poké Ball.

"In that case, let me show you what real power looks like."

As dramatic battle music played, the game instantly transitioned to the battle screen!

Across the field, light flashed, and an abnormally massive Beedrill with fierce eyes appeared. Its level was a shocking 15 levels higher than Cynthia's highest-level Pokémon.

[Mysterious Man: ??? has come to challenge you!]

[Lv75, Beedrill!]

Cynthia's heart sank. Such a high level, and Bug-type to boot...

There was only one choice!

She immediately sent out her current team's strongest Pokémon, the mythical Pokémon she'd happened to catch before. Victini!

However, the battle barely started before it was almost over.

The man didn't use any fancy techniques. A trainer silhouette appeared behind Beedrill as he simply spoke coolly. "Mega Evolution."

The Mega Stone on his wrist resonated with the Mega Stone Beedrill was carrying. Brilliant rainbow light instantly engulfed Beedrill!

Its form underwent a dramatic transformation in the glow. The poison stingers on its arms became more massive and ferocious, like two deadly war blades, while its entire body became more streamlined and brimming with explosive power!

Mega Beedrill!

The next second, just as Cynthia finished selecting the move "Flamethrower," Mega Beedrill's form vanished like a ghost, instantly reappearing in front of Victini!

[Mega Beedrill used "X-Scissor"!]

[Critical Hit!]

In a single strike! Victini didn't even have time to react. Its health bar emptied instantly, and it let out a cry before collapsing!

Cynthia's pupils shrank. Staring at the message on screen, "Victini has been defeated!" she found herself momentarily disbelieving.

Victini was... one-shot just like that?!

Even accounting for the level gap, Victini's base stats were already comparable to a legendary Pokémon!

Was this Mega Beedrill's damage output really that absurd?!

The rest of the battle was predictably one-sided. Cynthia's other Pokémon fell apart like paper under Mega Beedrill's onslaught. The screen quickly darkened, displaying the defeat message.

However, the man in the suit didn't take the opportunity to have Team Aqua capture her or do anything else. He simply gave her a cold glance, an expression that regarded her as insignificant dust.

He recalled Mega Beedrill and turned to walk toward another exit of the room, leaving behind a single sentence dripping with contempt. His tone was eerily similar to that of the Rocket trio from before, yet carried far greater pressure.

"Hmph, a child like you thinks they can stop this? Laughable."

With that, he disappeared down the corridor with two people who appeared to be his subordinates. The Team Aqua executives exchanged confused glances before hurrying after him, ignoring Cynthia entirely.

Cynthia stared at the screen, her character standing alone in the now-empty room. Yet she herself felt little frustration from the defeat.

Rather, the instant the defeat screen vanished, she shot upright in her chair, her deep black eyes gleaming with excitement!

"That person..."

She murmured to herself, fingers flying across the keyboard to open her computer's recording function. She captured and saved several close-ups and full-body shots of the mysterious man.

"That aura, that power, and Mega Beedrill... He's definitely the leader of an organization! And probably one far more hidden and powerful than Team Aqua or Team Magma!"

The League had always been investigating the leaders of various dark organizations, but intelligence about the highest-ranking figures was always scarce. Photos even rarer. Now, such an important figure had appeared right in the game, right before her!

This was crucial intelligence falling right into her lap!!

She immediately picked up another communicator and connected to the League's emergency contact channel, sending over the screenshots and a brief situation report.

[Discovered suspicious evidence suggesting the identity of an important dark organization leader. Male, features as follows... Please immediately initiate highest priority investigation!]

After handling this, she let out a long breath and turned her attention back to the game screen.

The story continued. The Team Aqua members seemed to have temporarily abandoned this base due to the mysterious man's departure and the possible incoming League investigation.

Cynthia guided her character away from the Team Aqua base. Recalling the earlier clues, she decided to head to her next destination. Mossdeep City.

However, when she successfully arrived at Mossdeep City, she discovered that the main path into the city was blocked by a group of people in brown uniforms resembling construction workers and various roadblocks.

A sign read: "Construction Ahead, No Entry."

A young male NPC standing by the road spotted her character and proactively approached to chat.

"Hey, were you trying to get to Mossdeep City? Too bad, heard the road up ahead got damaged in the earthquake earlier. They're doing emergency repairs right now. But a lot of people have been heading toward Shoal Cave instead. Sounds like something even bigger happened over there. Want to check it out?"

Shoal Cave?

Cynthia paused for a moment.

Lance had just finished telling her in detail about his experiences there. Encountering the frozen Regice and Wallace. So something was happening there again now? And it sounded like a different situation?

Could it be because... the game progression was different?

Because she'd chosen a different starter Pokémon, or triggered different prerequisite conditions, causing the story to branch off differently?

"Is this like... two different timelines?" Cynthia pondered this possibility. Now she felt this game's design was truly profound.

Despite her confusion, she decided to check it out anyway. She guided her character to turn around and head toward Shoal Cave.

Entering Shoal Cave again, the atmosphere was completely different from what Lance had described.

There was no malevolent cold, but rather an atmosphere saturated with chaotic energy remnants and... an icy chill?

To be more accurate, it seemed like the lingering aftermath of some far more violent power's eruption.

The cave was crowded with NPCs watching the spectacle, pointing and discussing animatedly.

Cynthia pushed through the crowd and headed deeper into the cave. The further she went, the more obvious the signs of battle became, with large sections of the cave walls bearing scorch marks and traces of freezing.

Soon, she heard angry roars and panicked human shouts.

In a relatively open ice cavern, she witnessed an astounding scene.

A group of people in peculiar black-and-white uniforms were frantically operating what looked like a massive energy cannon, its target being a blue-gray Pokémon standing on two legs in a draconic form!

One of its wings was an ice wing, the other a demonic claw. Its towering frame carried the dignity of a king, and deep blue energy radiance continuously surged from its body. Clearly, the powerful presence pervading the cavern was emanating from this Pokémon!

Was this... the frozen Pokémon that Lance had mentioned?

But right now, this Pokémon appeared extraordinarily pained and furious. It thrashed about wildly, constantly erupting with uncontrolled ice-flame energy, freezing and shattering the surrounding rock walls.

"Hurry and restrain it! The energy output is overloading!" a minor boss-like NPC shouted desperately.

"I can't! The control signal is jammed! It's breaking free!" another member screamed in horror.

The next second, the Pokémon let out an ear-splitting roar and suddenly broke free from all energy restraints! Its crimson eyes locked onto the people trying to control it, and its mouth began gathering terrifyingly powerful ice-type energy!

"It's over!" The Plasma members' faces went pale.

Cynthia also held her breath, maneuvering her character two steps back, ready to defend against any attacks that might reach her.

In this critical moment, the apparent minor boss NPC, looking somewhat pained and resigned, suddenly pulled out an object from within his robe. It was a cube-shaped object radiating bizarre multicolored light, like a Rubik's cube, which he hurled forcefully toward the dragon Pokémon!

"Damn it, no choice! We have to use this!"

The cube flew near the dragon Pokémon and suddenly exploded with brilliant light, ripping space itself!

A massive, dark purple wormhole with eerie starlight twinkling within suddenly materialized above the dragon's head.

And upon witnessing this sight, Cynthia's entire body suddenly convulsed.

This was...

An Ultra Wormhole?!