Chapter 152: Breezing Through the Gym, Ascending Mt. Pyre, Hidden Secrets?

After a brief moment of thought, several Water-type Pokémon flashed through Cynthia's mind.

These Pokémon typically didn't attract much of her attention, and she rarely saw trainers use them. But in light of the experience and conclusions she'd just drawn, Cynthia decided she'd need to pay much more attention to these uncommon Pokémon going forward.

With that thought, she shook her head slightly.

After watching the entire playthrough by this streamer called "Passerby," the biggest impact on her wasn't just these insights—it was that she now had a direct understanding of the key to challenging the Flying-type Gym.

Thank goodness she'd watched "Passerby's" Flying Gym challenge video before attempting it herself. Otherwise, she had to admit, whether it was the opening Swellow with its Guts ability holding a Flame Orb, the incredibly tanky Gliscor with its endless cycle of Substitute, Toxic Orb, and Protect with Poison Heal, or that Altaria that gained Fairy typing after Mega Evolution and could nullify Dragon-type moves...

If she hadn't learned about all this beforehand, she would've been caught completely off guard. She'd have needed multiple attempts at minimum to clear it. However, now that there was no information gap and she understood the Flying Gym's situation in advance, after brief consideration, Cynthia quickly formed a battle plan in her mind.

After arriving in Fortree City, she didn't even head straight to the Flying Gym. Instead, following what she'd seen in the video, she first went to a nearby bridge to obtain the device for detecting invisible Pokémon, then chased away the Kecleon blocking the Gym entrance before finally starting her challenge.

Even the mechanisms inside the Flying Gym posed no problem—she smoothly navigated through them using what she'd learned from the video, defeated numerous NPCs, and arrived before Gym Leader Winona to begin her Flying Gym battle.

The battles that followed, while still challenging, went surprisingly smoothly.

Against the Guts-ability Swellow, Cynthia led with Rotom, then immediately switched it out for Pelipper, setting up Rain Dance weather while tanking a largely ineffective Brave Bird from Swellow.

The purpose of this switch was naturally to bait out Swellow's Brave Bird, causing it to lose some HP from recoil and setting up for a one-hit knockout later.

Then, as the next turn began, Winona predictably chose a different attack type, using Facade.

This Normal-type move had only 60 base power, but it doubled when the user had a status condition. Combined with the Flame Orb's burn damage boost, even Pelipper, known for its bulk, had its HP bar instantly depleted to zero.

However, Cynthia's goal had already been achieved. She immediately switched in Ludicolo, whose Swift Swim ability activated under the rain, and a single Surf precisely wiped out all of Swellow's remaining HP—without the earlier Brave Bird recoil damage, this wouldn't have been possible. It would've left Swellow with a sliver of health, allowing it to take down Ludicolo with the super-effective Brave Bird.

Next came Gliscor. Honestly, Cynthia was somewhat familiar with this Pokémon. Many Poison and Ground-type trainers chose to raise one as their team's defensive tank against super-effective moves, but their movesets obviously weren't as twisted as Winona's in-game version. Typically, they'd include some offensive capability.

A Gliscor like Winona's in the video—using Substitute plus Toxic Orb to trigger Poison Heal, then cycling Protect indefinitely to wear down opponents—honestly stunned Cynthia.

This was the first time she'd seen such a logical yet absolutely diabolical strategy...

However, with advance knowledge, the countermeasure was quite simple. Gliscor's speed wasn't particularly high, so Ludicolo used Teeter Dance, inflicting confusion, which immediately caused it to hit itself.

Two Surfs followed, and with the super-effective bonus, successfully took down Gliscor.

By this point, the battle's outcome was already clear.

Sceptile didn't even try to conserve its condition. After Ludicolo fell, it Mega Evolved early and, with its incredible offensive power, used Leaf Storm and Dragon Pulse to sweep through the next two Pokémon before finally being taken down by a Dragon Pulse when it faced Mega Altaria.

Before falling, it still managed to shave off a quarter of Altaria's HP with Leaf Blade—after all, Altaria had decent bulk, and Grass-type moves were minimally effective against it.

However, that quarter HP didn't matter for the battle's conclusion, because Cynthia already knew how to handle Altaria. She directly sent out Dracovish.

After evolution, Altaria did indeed use its Fairy typing to avoid the Dragon-type weakness, but the other fatal flaw shared by Dragon-types—Ice—remained unsolved!

With its excellent bulk, Dracovish tanked a Dragon Pulse from Altaria, then delivered a super-effective Ice Fang that directly wiped out the remaining third of its HP.

Honestly, if Dragon-types didn't resist Water moves, a Fishious Rend would've dealt even more damage.

With Mega Altaria's defeat came Cynthia's ultimate victory in this battle.

At this moment, listening to the victory music and seeing the dialogue box pop up before her, Cynthia felt a peculiar sensation well up inside.

Ever since becoming Champion, she'd only been the one guiding others, showing the way to confused newcomers. She couldn't remember the last time she'd learned something from someone else.

But today, after watching this entire video walkthrough, just this Flying Gym battle alone had made things considerably easier for her.

This feeling... was actually rather nostalgic.

Beyond that, she also felt her control over her current team becoming increasingly effortless.

When building her Rain team, her decision to include several more Pokémon to expand type coverage had clearly been the right call...

Meanwhile, as the battle ended, Winona on the opposite side moved.

"A heart-pounding match." Winona stepped forward, her voice crisp as she handed the Feather Badge and the TM for Aerial Ace to Cynthia.

"Your commanding artistry has given your Pokémon wings to touch the sky... How beautiful."

At her computer screen, Cynthia's lips curved into a slight smile.

This feeling of strategizing within the game's rules, building tactics, and achieving victory... was a completely different experience from her real battles as Champion, but equally captivating in its own way.

However, the peace this victory brought her didn't last long.

As she left Fortree City and continued forward, a sudden commotion ahead caught her attention.

After a brief screen stutter, an elderly woman came stumbling over, looking quite anxious:

"Please, Trainer! Team Aqua... they stole our important package and headed toward Mt. Pyre!"

Mt. Pyre?

Cynthia immediately caught this keyword. This seemed to be a dormant volcano in the Hoenn region, though her impression of it wasn't particularly strong. So this volcano was right next to Fortree City?

And Team Aqua was out stealing things again?

Last time they met, Team Aqua had stolen submarine blueprints from the museum. Now they were stealing from an old woman?

Was she overthinking this, or was this just a routine side quest? Either way, since the plot had literally run up to her face, there was no reason not to pursue it.

"Leave it to me."

She clicked the confirm option, said goodbye to the old woman, opened her map to locate Mt. Pyre's direction, and began heading that way.

Quite a few trainers challenged her along the route, but given Cynthia's current team strength, these trainers posed no difficulty—they were merely experience packages for her growing power.

As Cynthia approached Mt. Pyre's location, dense raindrops began falling thickly from the sky. For some reason, she suddenly became keenly aware that something felt off in the atmosphere, as if a major battle was brewing...

This feeling left her somewhat inexplicably uneasy.

...

Mt. Pyre was located in the mist to the lower left of Petalburg City. After using Surf, Cynthia easily reached it.

But upon entering this map, she discovered that Mt. Pyre was divided into two different areas—the mountain's interior seemed to be a place specifically for Pokémon burials, while outside the mountain body, at its peak, lay the volcano that had been dormant for who knows how long and would never erupt again.

Cynthia chose not to venture deep into that Pokémon resting place, instead leaving directly from the left side and ascending the mountain's exterior.

As soon as she emerged, she noticed that dense raindrops continued falling from the sky.

This immediately caught her attention, making her ponder a new question.

This game's weather system seemed quite realistic, so in such conditions, would battles be counted as having continuous Rain coverage?

Experience told her there'd definitely be battles ahead to verify this, so she directly switched Ludicolo to the lead position as her starter Pokémon.

Sure enough, Cynthia hadn't gone far before stairs appeared before her, and a Team Aqua NPC instantly spotted her, rushing over to trigger a battle!

[Who are you? We've got important business here, so I suggest you get lost!]

In the rousing battle music, the battle interface refreshed onto the screen.

As soon as Ludicolo appeared, in the pixelated visuals, the previously overcast sky was suddenly covered by an even deeper blue. Massive pixel raindrops went "pitter-patter," instantly enveloping the entire battlefield—Rain weather was definitely active!

Moreover, it seemed even more pronounced and intense than the rain from Pelipper's ability earlier.

And naturally, the first beneficiary of this condition was Ludicolo!

In the rain, it seemed infused with countless power, its body surrounded by a pale blue glow—Swift Swim ability triggered!

Its speed instantly doubled under the rain's boost!

...

With rain coverage throughout, the journey ahead became Ludicolo's performance time. The Team Aqua grunts' Zubats, Carvanha, and other Water-types often didn't even get a chance to act before Ludicolo's Energy Ball came whistling in for the KO.

Battle-complete notification sounds rang out one after another, the entire process flowing so smoothly it was almost jaw-dropping.

Cynthia found she barely needed to think—just simple inputs: see a Water-type, click Energy Ball; see other types, click Surf. Ludicolo would clear the field with overwhelming speed.

She didn't even need to consider bringing out her other Pokémon.

For some reason, she detected a certain satisfaction in this experience, though she couldn't quite describe what that feeling was.

If she'd had experience with other games, she'd probably understand—this was the pleasure known as "mowing down" enemies.

After steamrolling her way through, Cynthia finally reached Mt. Pyre's mid-slope.

This gray rock-covered volcano exuded an atmosphere of solemnity and sorrow. Gray tombstones stood everywhere, and the background music turned somber and slow.

The ascending stairs were straight, though dotted with more Team Aqua members, but none could stop Ludicolo, nearly invincible in the rain.

Five minutes later, after clearing the last batch of Team Aqua NPCs, Cynthia finally reached the summit.

Here, this story arc seemed to finally reach its climax.

A potbellied man in a Team Aqua uniform stood with his back to her, facing two grief-stricken elders—Mt. Pyre's guardians.

"Hehehehe... The secret treasure that can expand the ocean, the Indigo Orb, is finally mine! The age of the sea is coming!"

The man laughed triumphantly.

"Stop!" Cynthia's cool voice interrupted his glee.

The man turned around, his face wearing the typical villain's arrogance. "Oh? Another meddling trainer? Let me show you Team Aqua's power! Go, Sharpedo!"

[Team Aqua Admin Shelly challenges you!]

Battle commenced again! The environment remained Cynthia-dominated rain, while her opponent was a level 55 Sharpedo—combat power completely different from the Team Aqua grunts.

"Ludicolo, I'm counting on you again—use Energy Ball!"

Cynthia ordered without hesitation.

Under Swift Swim's extreme speed, Ludicolo's figure became almost a green-blue blur. Shelly's Sharpedo opened its bloody maw, its vicious pixel effects just beginning to display when Ludicolo's green Energy Ball shot out precisely!

Energy Ball—direct hit! Super effective! Sharpedo's HP bar instantly evaporated!

"What?!" Shelly seemed shocked, immediately sending out another Pokémon—

A Flying and Poison-type that perfectly countered Ludicolo—Crobat!

"No chance. Ludicolo, Surf!"

Under rain's absolute priority, before Crobat's wings could glow purple, a super-effective, brilliantly glowing Zen Headbutt had already struck—wait, Cynthia used Surf, and Crobat cried out once before losing battle capability.

Shelly was forced to send out another Golbat, but the outcome was never in doubt. Before speedy Ludicolo, any Pokémon without sufficient bulk could only be steamrolled.

Under rain boost, the battle essentially ended the moment it began.

Of course, without rain, if Cynthia had simply led with Pelipper first, the effect would've been the same.

Just as Cynthia defeated Shelly and prepared to reclaim the orb, another rough voice rang out.

"Hmph, Team Aqua's still as pathetic as ever! Can't even beat a kid!"

A Team Magma Admin in uniform emerged from shadows on the other side, bringing a group of subordinates.

"The orb that can expand the land, the Crimson Orb... will belong to us, Team Magma!"

In a cutscene, NPCs from both organizations swarmed forward, surrounding Cynthia. The two villainous teams began arguing and confronting each other, but ultimately each departed from the summit with reluctance and scheming, each carrying an orb.

As for the protagonist Cynthia, with too many blocking grunts on both sides, she couldn't intercept either party.

After a hard-fought battle, the empty summit was left with only Cynthia and the elderly couple.

"Th-thank you so much, young trainer." The old man shuffled forward, and though the orbs were stolen, his eyes still held gratitude. "Though we couldn't stop them, your courage is admirable. Please come here—we have something to give you."

The elder handed an unremarkable-looking stone to Cynthia. "Please keep this safe. It may guide your way in the future."

Cynthia accepted the stone, and a magnified icon immediately appeared before her, letting her examine it carefully.

The stone's surface was pitted and uneven, yet for some reason gave her a sense of déjà vu.

The game's prompt also appeared at this moment—[Congratulations, player! You've obtained the special item "Meteorite"!]

[Description: A mysterious meteorite that fell from who-knows-where. No one knows what purpose it serves, but it seems to contain an incredible power within.]

So this was a meteorite from outer space?

Cynthia was already used to these riddle-like item descriptions, but since the system categorized it as a Key Item, it would likely play a crucial role in the upcoming story.

But that sense of familiarity—she couldn't quite place where it came from for the moment.

Also, she'd previously obtained a somewhat similar meteorite from Team Magma.

Was there... some connection between the two?

Finishing her thoughts, she placed it directly into her bag.

Speaking of which, in the recent cutscene, Team Magma and Team Aqua had each seized an orb.

According to the elder's words, those two orbs possessed some incredible, world-changing power.

But the specific effects remained unknown.

In the dense rain, Cynthia realized something big was about to happen, and Team Aqua and Team Magma's schemes and plans... were about to be revealed.

Just as she prepared to leave and continue onward, her gaze was drawn to an ancient tombstone at the summit's center.

—In the pixel screen, there seemed to be a blurry, distorted purple mist-like spirit faintly trembling there.

"Is that... a Spiritomb?" Cynthia recognized that entity.

As a trainer who'd raised a Spiritomb, she was naturally quite familiar with this Pokémon's various forms.

She controlled her character to approach and tried pressing the interaction button, only to find this purple spirit couldn't be interacted with at all. Instead, as she drew near, it simply vanished.

Given this game's "nature," this probably wasn't just a meaningless decoration—there had to be some hidden content behind it that she just couldn't trigger yet.

At this moment, she stood atop Mt. Pyre as the rain gradually ceased with the battle's end.

Another cutscene began playing. Below, the vast ocean spread before her, and in the distance, countless streams of lava were churning.

The theft of both orbs meant an even greater crisis was brewing.

"...Meteorite... Spiritomb... orbs..." Cynthia murmured softly, opening the game map.

"The next destination is Mossdeep City."

As her words fell, the rain cleared and sunshine pierced through the clouds, illuminating her path forward.

Cynthia continued her journey.

Meanwhile, a message suddenly popped up in her upper right corner.

[ElectricSupremacy: Cynthia-sis, you're finally back!!]

[ElectricSupremacy: Cynthia-sis, weren't you only online for ten minutes?? How did you already beat the Flying Gym?! Wait for me!! QAQ]

Cynthia paused, opened the progress leaderboard, and saw she'd reclaimed first place while "ElectricSupremacy's" game progress remained stuck at the Flying Gym challenge. Her expression immediately became somewhat complicated.

This kid...

They've really been stuck here quite a while, haven't they...