Hi
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Looking at the scene before her and the chat flooding like crazy in her livestream, Iono felt like she was still in a daze.
She could hardly believe that if her guess was right, this whole thing was just too ridiculous.
She'd seen too many incredible, logic-defying things in the game. Compared to those, Rare Candies were actually pretty ordinary.
Those items that could directly change a Pokémon's personality, the Technical Machines that could teach Pokémon new moves, all kinds of never-before-heard-of held items, and even those things called Mega Evolution stones—could they all be real?
If the game's rewards kept getting better and better, with more and more variety, didn't that mean that sooner or later, these things would become actual rewards and appear in the real world?
Iono's eyes widened involuntarily.
Actually, when the Rare Candy and that Thunder Stone appeared before, she'd already been thinking along these lines.
She just hadn't expected this day to come so quickly.
After the brief shock and blank stare, Iono snapped back to reality, suddenly feeling inexplicably excited.
Not only was she ranked high on the Emerald progress leaderboard, but more importantly, she seemed to be among the first batch of players to get into that new game, Dark Phantom.
If the rewards for Emerald were this generous, then the new game made by the same studio would surely have progress leaderboard rewards that were just as good, right?
Thinking bigger, as long as she pushed harder and climbed to the top of both games' leaderboards, the things she'd get each time they calculated rewards would be terrifying, wouldn't they?
Although Iono was usually optimistic and lively, she had a fierce drive in her bones.
Any trainer worth their salt wants to get stronger.
Iono became a streamer not because she loved the industry so much, but mainly because at the time, Levincia Gym was struggling financially, and she had to find a way to compete with other gyms to keep it afloat.
Taking a step back, if Iono had been Elite Four level, or even Champion level, from the start, how could her gym have possibly lacked popularity?
But when it came to getting stronger, probably no trainer could refuse, and Iono was no exception.
She and her Pokémon had always worked hard, as mentioned before.
That Thunder Stone and the current Rare Candy had caused Bellibolt's strength to skyrocket, and this was just the effect of one Rare Candy. It felt way more powerful than the Thunder Stone from last time.
If she fed all these Rare Candies to Bellibolt, how much would its strength increase?
If she could get the progress leaderboard rewards from both games as planned, the quantity given each time would be enough to massively boost the strength of every single one of her Pokémon.
Thinking of this, Iono felt her heartbeat racing faster and faster, unconsciously holding her breath.
At this moment, she finally understood completely why Cynthia had told her back then not to let people know the game gave out rewards.
Because, as long as someone was a trainer, almost everyone wanted to get stronger.
Once everyone knew about this, they'd definitely go crazy for the Emerald game, and the whole world would descend into chaos.
But even so, what did that have to do with her?
The corner of Iono's mouth lifted in a smile.
What she needed to do now was race ahead of everyone else and firmly hold onto her spot on the leaderboard.
In terms of actual battle ability, she might not compare to those of the Elite Four and Champions.
But when it came to gaming experience and skill... heh heh.
Iono smiled smugly to herself.
Damn it, no one's taking my spot!
For the sake of the gym, for the sake of my Pokémon, the battle across both games officially begins!
She took a deep breath and dove headfirst back into Dark Phantom.
What Iono didn't know was that right after the weird incident of the game giving rewards appeared in her livestream, the same thing happened in several other big streamers' broadcasts.
These big streamers were excellent at gaming and chasing trends, so after this week of pushing hard, their progress in Emerald had all squeezed into the top fifty.
As long as you were in the top fifty, the game would give out rewards. Unlike Iono, they'd never experienced anything like this before. No one had told them that a virtual game could give out physical rewards.
A bunch of streamers were stunned on the spot, standing there looking at that glowing red box in the distance, unsure whether to go get it or not.
A few bold streamers seized the opportunity, grabbed the red box right in front of their cameras to show their viewers, and even opened it on the spot, studying every item inside together with their audience.
Other streamers were much more cautious.
Faced with the suddenly appearing box, they didn't choose to approach it but decisively turned off their streams and went off to do who knows what.
The streamers' reactions to the suddenly distributed game rewards varied, but one thing was certain: this would soon spread online and cause a sensation worldwide, making everyone understand that this game called Emerald was definitely not just a simple virtual program, but something that would bring earth-shattering changes to the world...
Meanwhile, in the villa at Mt. Coronet in the Sinnoh region, Cynthia looked at the familiar red box on the table, raising an eyebrow slightly.
She'd just realized that another week had passed so quickly, and the game leaderboard had calculated rewards again.
Her game progress remained first on the overall leaderboard. That player who suddenly appeared, called "Passerby," seemed to have never logged on again after that livestreamed battle at the Flying-type gym.
When she first noticed this, Cynthia was very confused. Such an amazing player who'd climbed to first place in such a short time—shouldn't they push forward in one go and beat the game completely? Or at least reach the latest progress?
But this person just disappeared.
However, after thinking about it a bit more, Cynthia felt like she could understand.
Without a doubt, that person must be a very strong trainer. People of their status had a lot on their plates. Even she herself had stopped playing for a few days before because of other matters.
This "Passerby" player started playing between two weekly leaderboard calculations, which meant they probably didn't know the game gave out physical rewards.
If they knew, Cynthia figured that even if they had something incredibly important, they'd find a way to hold onto first place at all costs.
After all, the rewards for first place were incomparable to any other ranking. They were just so much more generous.
Her previous experience was proof—that was a Mega Stone and Key Stone!
She'd specifically asked Iono afterward, and the other person had only received a Thunder Stone and a Rare Candy. The gap was obvious.
Looking at it this way, honestly, this was actually good for her, because she really did have one less formidable competitor.
In her heart of hearts, watching the way that person played the game with that drive and ability, if they went all in, she really might not be able to hold this first-place spot.
But Cynthia was also very clear about one thing. She looked at her phone screen, where news about Emerald distributing rewards was popping up one after another.
Obviously, the fact that the game could give out real rewards couldn't be hidden this time, and the whole world was in an uproar.
From now on, there would only be more and more players rushing into the game, desperately fighting for spots on the leaderboard—and naturally, that included that mysterious player called "Passerby."
Thinking of this, Cynthia's gaze became resolute.
Although that person's gaming ability was unquestionable, she also had her own reasons for needing to hold onto this position.
A huge cyan-green figure flashed through her mind.
That was the level of strength she'd always yearned for and wanted to reach.
And this game had become the best way for her to achieve that goal.
So, she absolutely couldn't give up, and she absolutely wouldn't admit defeat.
Cynthia took a deep breath, her gaze returning to the red box before her. It was time to see what this leaderboard calculation had given her.
Her intuition told her that this reward would only be better than the last one.
She took a few seconds to steady herself, then reached out and opened the box.
Just like last time, three golden lights jumped out of the box and floated in front of her.
But this time the golden light was brighter and more blinding than before, painting all the walls of the room gold and making it hard for Cynthia to keep her eyes open.
After several seconds, she adjusted and reached toward the first, smallest light orb.
The light scattered, and she found herself holding what looked like an old, worn rein. It felt a bit cool to the touch and had some give to it.
Tied to the rope was a piece of dark-colored metal engraved with strange patterns, with a cyan-green streak in the middle that seemed to be slowly flowing.
At the same time, she vaguely received some information in her mind, not like clear words but more like a feeling: [Ancient Rein, connects to an unknown spirit, points to abandoned royalty.]
"Ancient Rein? Abandoned royalty?" Cynthia looked at the thing, repeating the words in her mind.
Honestly, she could feel there was a very powerful but quiet force hidden within, like it had some connection to certain old legends from the Sinnoh region, but she wasn't clear on the specifics.
The only thing she could be sure of was that this thing definitely wasn't simple.
That game... couldn't possibly give her a piece of junk as a reward.
She carefully set the rein aside and looked at the second light orb.
After the second orb disappeared, it revealed a pretty high-tech-looking black wristband with a transparent crystal embedded in the center that seemed to have a red nebula swirling inside.
Similarly, a vague prompt appeared: [Energy Activation Device, unlocks restrictions, glimpse the gigantic form.]
"Energy Activation Device... gigantic form?" Cynthia put the wristband on her hand. The band automatically adjusted to the right size and vibrated slightly.
She could feel that this thing seemed capable of activating some kind of power, but how exactly to use it and what that "gigantic form" was remained a complete mystery.
Clearly, both of these items were shrouded in mystery, their true purposes unclear.
Finally, she looked at the largest light orb.
When the light faded, it revealed a crystal-clear candy with rainbow light swirling inside.
It looked a lot like the Rare Candy she'd seen before and even eaten herself, but the color was purer, and it was several times larger!
And this time, the system information was much clearer: [Premium Rare Candy, condensed essence, greatly enhances life essence and potential limits.]
"Premium Rare Candy..." A clear smile finally appeared on Cynthia's face.
Although the first two items were probably more powerful, they were things she didn't know how to use yet. But this candy's benefits were real and tangible.
She walked to the window, took out a Poké Ball, and spoke softly: "Come out, Garchomp."
White light flashed, and the massive, intimidating Garchomp appeared in the room.
As Cynthia's ace, it had long since reached the pinnacle of Champion level, its whole body radiating the sharp aura of countless battles. Just standing there, it made the air feel somewhat congealed.
It affectionately nuzzled Cynthia with its head, but its eyes still maintained the vigilance characteristic of a top-tier predator.
"Do you feel it? This." Cynthia held up the rainbow-glowing Premium Rare Candy to Garchomp.
Garchomp's pupils suddenly contracted. From this candy, it sensed an irresistible attraction, the instinctive desire of life wanting to break through to a higher level.
It let out a low growl, with a hint of questioning and anticipation, looking at its trainer.
"This is an opportunity for us. Eat it."
Cynthia's tone was firm.
Garchomp hesitated no more and swallowed the Premium Rare Candy in one gulp.
For the first few seconds, there seemed to be no change. But immediately after, an indescribable energy wave suddenly exploded from within Garchomp's body!
It wasn't the kind of impact that would destroy everything, but a bigger, more fundamental change.
"GAAAAAH!!!"
Garchomp let out an unprecedentedly long roar, the sound carrying terrifying, penetrating power!
Its massive body trembled slightly. The blue armor on its body visibly became thicker and deeper in color, its edges gleaming with a cold metallic light.
Its already incredibly sharp fin blades were continuously emitting cold air.
Most heart-stopping of all was the change in its aura.
Its previously outward sharp presence had restrained itself considerably, but the sense of oppression it gave off had skyrocketed like crazy.
An ancient, heavy, vast, majestic, like the earth and sky combined, naturally spread outward.
The air in the room seemed to become thick, and even the light was distorted because of it.
This wasn't intentional on its part, but a natural "hierarchical" suppression that higher life forms exerted on lower life forms after their life level increased.
Cynthia watched all of this in shock. As a trainer whose heart was connected with Garchomp, her perception was the most direct.
She could feel the life energy inside Garchomp surging and roaring like an ocean, could "sense" that its control over power had become refined to an unprecedented degree.
This was no longer just ordinary "getting stronger."
This was a fundamental leap, breaking through some invisible ceiling and stepping into a realm that only existed in legends—a realm beyond Champion level. The legendary... existence!!
Just then, another Poké Ball at Cynthia's waist suddenly shook violently on its own and popped open with a "bang."
Her other main Pokémon, Spiritomb, was forced out.
As soon as Spiritomb came out, instead of floating around like usual, it let out a series of sharp, fear-filled buzzing sounds.
The gem at its core flashed erratically, and its whole body curled up into a trembling ball, desperately trying to hide behind Cynthia.
Supposedly, it was composed of 108 spirits and had seen plenty of powerful Pokémon before. After eating the Rare Candy, its strength had improved immensely.
But now, faced with Garchomp's unconsciously emitted, almost rule-like pressure after its life essence had been elevated, it felt the most primal terror!
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