Free chapter on patreon is out 171 for monday (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
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After leaving the Mauville Game Corner, Lance returned to Mauville City proper.
Looking at his team averaging just over level 60, his mind flashed back to Gladion's level 75 Silvally and the Mossdeep Gym's twin leaders with their perfectly coordinated strategy, plus that Mega Gardevoir.
A heavy weight of pressure settled on his chest.
These two challenges were way too difficult.
He thought it over carefully.
Even if he trained his current team up to the game's level 65 cap, challenging the gym would be extremely difficult, let alone that seemingly impossible trial.
His team composition needed updating, too.
He realized that relying solely on his current Pokémon not only made him vulnerable to being hard-countered, but they simply weren't strong enough anymore.
Most importantly, without any Dragon-types (his specialty and favorite), his team felt incomplete, making it hard to unleash his full potential.
He decided to explore the wild areas first, training while keeping an eye out for new, powerful Pokémon.
Riding on Gyarados, he first went to Jagged Pass, then explored around Mt. Chimney.
The wild Pokémon here were somewhat higher level than roadside encounters, mostly around 50-55, but for Lance, who desperately needed rapid improvement, the experience gains still felt meager, and the repetitive battles were tedious.
What disappointed him even more was that the Pokémon he encountered were the same old faces over and over: Zubat, Onix, and Sableye. Occasionally, spotting a Murkrow counted as a pleasant surprise. He couldn't find any promising new partners with real potential.
This grinding efficiency was just too low.
After a good while of effort, his team's experience bars crept forward painfully slowly.
Lance slumped back against his computer chair, feeling deflated.
Just then, he slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering something he'd overlooked.
Hadn't Cynthia announced the Emerald situation in the group chat earlier? Everyone should be playing by now, right?
He immediately alt-tabbed out of the game and opened the Elite Four chat group.
Since everyone was playing Emerald, maybe someone knew where to catch powerful Pokémon, especially Dragon-types!
As soon as he opened the group, messages were flying by fast and furious, all discussing game content.
[Poison Is Supreme!]: "The Celadon Game Corner prize list got updated! They added the 'Psychic' TM, but it's ridiculously expensive..."
[Ice Cold]: "Has anyone beaten the third gym yet? That gym leader's Pokémon ability is seriously annoying."
[Fighting Spirit]: "I ran into a shiny Machop in the cave behind Dewford Town, stats look pretty good [Image].jpg"
Lance quickly typed to join the discussion.
[Dragon Supremacy]: "Hey, everyone, I've got a question. Does anyone know where to catch Dragon-types in the game? Or areas with higher-level wild Pokémon? I'm stuck and need to level up fast."
As soon as he sent that, the group chat livened up.
[Ice Cold]: "Oh? Is our Flying-type Elite Four member finally returning to his roots in-game? (Laughing Pikachu.jpg)"
[Fighting Spirit]: "Dragon-types? Those aren't easy to find. But I remember someone mentioned that deep in Meteor Falls you can occasionally encounter some rare Pokémon, though I'm not sure if they're Dragon-types."
[Poison Is Supreme]: "Yeah, Meteor Falls is right. I went there to catch Solrock, and I think I saw a Deino spawn, but I couldn't catch up to it."
Meteor Falls?
Deino spawning there?
Lance's eyes lit up.
Of course! How could he have forgotten that place? It's famous in the Hoenn region as a potential source of Dragon-type Pokémon!
"Thanks, everyone!" He hastily replied and immediately switched back to the game.
Using Fly, his character instantly arrived in Fallarbor Town, then rushed toward nearby Meteor Falls.
Inside the cavern, light was dim, and jagged rocks jutted everywhere. Lance maneuvered his character back and forth through the cave, repeatedly triggering wild encounters.
However, the higher his hopes, the greater his disappointment.
All he encountered were Geodude, Zubat, Lunatone, and Solrock. After more than twenty battles, forget Dragon-types - he hadn't even seen a single Dragon Scale.
Was the group chat information wrong?
Or... was his luck just that bad?
Lance was starting to doubt his judgment and was about to give up after one more lap.
Just then, at the edge of his screen, a wobbly, slow-moving pink creature came into view. Its body looked like viscous liquid, with two small horns on its head.
Huh? What's this?
Lance paused. He was certain he'd never seen this kind of Pokémon before.
Whatever, he rushed forward and triggered the battle. Looking carefully at the Pokémon's name and type:
[Goomy LV5]
[Type: Dragon]
Dragon-type?!
It really is Dragon-type! Lance instantly perked up. Although this little guy looked rather unremarkable, even kind of adorably ugly, the type field clearly read "Dragon"!
Who cares! As long as it's a Dragon!
Catch it first, ask questions later!
Without hesitation, Lance commanded Appletun to use Stun Spore to paralyze it, then threw a Great Ball.
The Poké Ball shook three times, then clicked. Capture successful!
[Obtained Goomy!]
[New Pokémon data has been recorded in the Pokédex!]
Lance quickly opened the Pokédex to check detailed information.
"Goomy - Ability: Sap Sipper - Evolution Type..."
Lance looked at the final evolution form's silhouette. Although it was just an outline, it appeared to be a fairly intimidating, large Dragon-type Pokémon.
While its design was quite different from his usual Dragonite and Salamence, it was definitely a proper Dragon!
Well, even though the spawn rate is low, at least there's a catch. Lance's mood improved considerably.
He glanced at his party. After catching the new Pokémon, he still had one empty slot.
Since Goomy could spawn here, maybe there are other... This encounter rekindled his hope without question. He decided to explore deeper into Meteor Falls.
On his first visit, he'd noticed that some areas in this cavern required Surf and Rock Smash to access, so he hadn't thoroughly explored them before.
But now, he has definitely met those requirements.
He maneuvered his character, using Surf to cross the underground river and Rock Smash to break through blocking boulders, entering a smaller cavern deeper within Meteor Falls.
The environment here was even darker and more complex, and the wild Pokémon species seemed slightly different.
After several more unpleasant encounters (mostly Zubat and Graveler), the screen flashed into another battle!
This time, what appeared on the opposite side was a blue-skinned creature with a huge head that looked both dopey and fierce.
Lance's eyes went wide instantly!
He recognized this guy!
Bagon?!
It really is Bagon!
This is a pseudo-legendary Pokémon!
Its evolved form, Salamence, was one of his favorite Dragon-types that he'd always wanted to train! He never expected to have a chance to encounter one in this game!
He immediately focused completely. He sent out Appletun again. Unlike Goomy, Bagon was high-level 35.
At that level, just paralyzing and throwing balls probably wouldn't work.
He'd need to wear it down.
Lance carefully controlled his damage output, terrified of accidentally knocking it out.
After using up several Poké Balls, he finally succeeded in capturing it.
[Obtained Bagon!]
At this moment, Lance couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face.
Catching two Dragon-types in a row, including a pseudo-legendary, all his previous frustration vanished!
Just as he captured Bagon and the battle screen faded, the game didn't immediately cut back to the cavern map.
Instead, an elderly NPC in ancient robes and a long white beard slowly approached from the side of the screen, stopping before Lance's character.
"Trainer…" The old man's dialogue box appeared. "I've been watching you for some time. You treat your Pokémon with respect and patience, not just a hunger for power."
Lance blinked in surprise. Had he triggered a special event?
The old man went on: "You seek strength, and there's nothing wrong with that. But true power isn't found in evolution alone."
Evolution… Lance's pulse quickened. Was he talking about—
"The miracles born from old bonds run deeper than you think."
His tone hinted at more than he was willing to say outright.
"Listen with your heart. Walk with them. The connection between you and your Pokémon will show you the right path."
With that, the old man handed him a small, finely crafted bell.
[Obtained Soothe Bell!]
[A held item that soothes the spirit and strengthens friendship.]
The old man nodded slightly, then turned and slowly walked into the cave depths, disappearing.
Lance looked at the Soothe Bell in his item bag, reflecting on the old man's words.
Ancient bonds... miracles... the light of evolution... He thought it over.
Was this old man talking about Mega Evolution? And hinting that it requires deep bonds?
He recalled Steven with Metagross, Wallace with Gyarados.
When they performed Mega Evolution, it truly wasn't just the glow of items, but also a special sense of connection.
As a trainer, he could naturally sense this clearly.
So, Mega Evolution not only requires stones but also high friendship?
Lance pondered this. He'd been so focused on figuring out how to find those two types of stones that he'd overlooked this point.
But the problem circled back to square one. Where should he look for his Key Stone and Mega Stone?
Cynthia seemed to have obtained these naturally through the game's storyline, but his situation appeared different.
No one gave him a Key Stone, and no one gave him a Mega Stone...
Should he try to research it himself?
Speaking of which... he suddenly remembered the famous Trainers' School in Rustboro City. Behind the school was apparently a library with many books about Pokémon.
Lance immediately had a goal.
He'd check there.
Using Fly to get to Rustboro City, he went straight to the Trainers' School and slipped into the small library in the back courtyard.
After a quick word with the librarian, he started digging through the shelves.
After some searching, he finally uncovered a few scattered records.
[This ancient document states: A power beyond evolution requires the trainer and Pokémon to act as one, using two crucial stones — the "Key Stone" carried by the trainer and the matching "Mega Stone" held by the Pokémon.]
[These stones are exceedingly rare, often tied to thousand-year legends, hidden ruins yet to be discovered, or obtained by defeating certain powerful trainers who guard this legacy. Exact locations unknown.]
Key Stone… Mega Stone… Lance stared at the text on the screen, deep in thought.
The documents only confirmed the existence and importance of these two items, but specific acquisition methods remained unspecified.
"Ancient ruins... powerful trainers..." He mulled over these keywords.
If we're talking about ancient ruins in the game's Hoenn region, he knew of several.
Like that one in the desert - Cynthia had mentioned the symbols there.
And the places where he'd encountered Regirock and Regice also counted as ruins.
Looks like he'd have plenty to keep him busy from here on out.
Lance took a deep breath.
Leveling up, cultivating new Pokémon's friendship, exploring ruins, searching for Mega Stones... His game journey seemed to have just entered a more exciting phase.
Lance looked at the Soothe Bell in his bag and attached it to Bagon.
"Alright... I'll train you and Goomy up first, while building our bond."
Lance controlled his character, heading back out to the wild areas.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
The instant that ominous, rainbow-glowing, strange cube was thrown out, Cynthia's pupils contracted sharply.
That shape, that way of tearing through space - this was an Ultra Wormhole?!
Having seen it several times before, she absolutely couldn't be mistaken!
At this moment, the purple-hued wormhole rapidly expanded, its interior a twisted spiral of rainbow starlight.
Powerful suction force surged from within, sweeping up debris and ice shards from throughout the cavern.
The originally rampaging giant Dragon-type Pokémon seemed drawn to this sudden spatial rift.
It roared in both confusion and fury, terrifying ice-flame energy gathering in its mouth, apparently intending to destroy this anomaly along with everything around it!
However, before it could unleash its attack, light flashed inside the Ultra Wormhole!
A slender figure moving at absurd, almost afterimage-only speed shot out like lightning!
Its form was graceful and extraordinary, possessing an unnatural perfection.
Long antennae floated behind it, and its elongated limbs landed lightly on the ice surface, like a tap dancer.
It was unmistakably another Pokémon Cynthia had never seen before.
It possessed a humanoid, slender white body, cold and emotionless green eyes, a head that looked like it wore an ornate helmet, and arms that ended in sharp, needle-like points.
This thing is...?
Cynthia froze completely.
Since playing this game, she'd been encountering more and more Pokémon she'd never seen.
And most critically, the aura emanating from this Pokémon was quite astonishing, even... no less imposing than the cold presence radiating from that giant Dragon-type Pokémon!
When the cold air spread toward its body, it abruptly halted in mid-air!
So... this is also a Legendary Pokémon?
Or rather... is this... yet another "Ultra Beast"?!
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