Chapter 3: Cynthia’s Tactical Analysis and Wataru’s New Discovery (5,000 words)

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Of course, Cynthia had not forgotten that she was currently live-streaming. As she stepped out of the gym, she began explaining the key points of the recent battle to the viewers in the chat:

“The crucial aspect of this battle, as you all saw, was to end the opponent’s Electric Terrain while establishing a Grass Terrain favorable to us.”

“But there were actually several other important details that some of you may have missed. Let me break them down for you.”

“The reason we opened with Torterra instead of Ludicolo was because, under Electric Terrain, even though Ludicolo has ‘Fake Out,’ it couldn’t act before Raichu. So it was simpler to send out Torterra first.”

“Because Torterra’s resistances and the opponent’s team included a Magnezone, which has a significant advantage against Torterra, he naturally chose to switch out in the second turn.”

“This gave Torterra a turn to contest the battlefield.”

“Once we seized the terrain, in the next turn, we switched to Ludicolo, who used his Water typing to counter the Steel-type Magnezone.”

“Now comes the turning point of the battle—Ludicolo used ‘Teeter Dance’ to disrupt the opponent’s Magnezone. Whether the confusion took effect in the first turn didn’t matter; the key was the second turn!”

“That’s because in that turn, our most important Pokémon, Bewear, would enter the fray.”

“If, on that second turn, the Magnezone’s confusion made it hit itself, Bewear could switch in without taking damage and potentially break its ‘Sturdy’ ability!”

“This forced the opponent to switch out their Pokémon next turn; otherwise, the Steel-type Magnezone would be taken down by a single Fighting-type move.”

“That bought us a crucial opportunity to strengthen our position.”

“Finally, the most critical moment arrived: Bewear versus Raichu!”

“Raichu had a tremendous speed advantage, and even without Electric Terrain’s boost, its Thunderbolt could defeat Bewear with just two hits at full health.”

“Moreover, Raichu had ‘Fake Out,’ allowing it to deal damage immediately upon entry.”

“Fortunately, the HP recovery granted by the Grass Terrain solved all these problems. The first recovery offset the damage from Fake Out, and the subsequent recoveries helped Bewear survive Raichu’s second strike. This allowed Bewear to act after its second boost.”

“At that point, the four-times-powerful ‘Retaliate’ would shatter Raichu, since physical defense was never its strong suit.”

“Meanwhile, Raichu’s attacks would reduce Bewear’s HP to just under a third, triggering berry recovery that restored its health and ensured it wouldn’t be taken down by priority moves, allowing it to fight on.”

“From there, it was straightforward: Torterra and Ludicolo finished the battle, and we won with three Pokémon against four.”

After this detailed explanation, many viewers in the chat were stunned. To them, battles were a distant concept, something they mostly watched on TV between trainers but never truly understood deeply.

Now, with Cynthia’s explanation, even a pixelated turn-based battle moved them profoundly, offering invaluable insight.

“So this is what people mean by the ‘charm of battling,’” they thought.

Seconds later, the chat erupted:

“This is the mindset of a champion? I’ve really learned something!”

“My mouth says I understand, but my brain says I don’t.”

“As expected from Cynthia, even playing a game she’s this professional!”

Meanwhile, Cynthia had already left the Hearthome City Gym and released the three Pokémon from her bag.

As is customary after a gym battle, it was time to celebrate. She first looked at Torterra and gently patted its head.

“Torterra, your Grass Terrain was critical this time, and you helped finish the battle too. Thanks to your pure Grass typing, you forced Raichu to switch out, coaxing out Magnezone and revealing their weakness.”

Hearing Cynthia’s sincere praise, Torterra, who had felt down for not contributing much in this battle, immediately brightened up.

It smirked and obediently stood still, allowing Cynthia’s character to stroke its head.

After complimenting Torterra, Cynthia’s gaze shifted to Ludicolo.

“Ludicolo, thanks for leading the charge to scout the opponent’s strategy again.”

“Hey ha~”

Ludicolo swayed its body side to side, looking cheerful, seemingly unconcerned with such matters.

As long as it could fight and win alongside its trainer, it was happy.

Finally, Cynthia was about to praise Bewear.

“Bewear, this time thanks to you—”

Before she could finish, a prompt suddenly popped up before her eyes.

“Huh? Bewear’s form?”

In the next moment, a dazzling, multicolored evolutionary light burst forth from Bewear’s body!

Its form quickly changed and grew within the radiant glow.

When the light faded, its physique had completely transformed—more robust and towering, now standing upright on two legs, resembling a human figure.

Yet its appearance and fur remained unchanged, like an enlarged Bewear.

“Congratulations! Your Pokémon Bewear has evolved into Ursaring!”

After evolving, Ursaring curiously examined its new form, then strode forward and embraced Cynthia in a powerful hug, letting out an excited roar.

“Roar~~”

Cynthia glanced at her pale-faced in-game character on the screen, feelings mixed within her.

Bewear’s evolution was certainly a cause for celebration, but recalling from memory how such Pokémon often hugged with too much force made her feel a bit uneasy.

Thankfully, it was the in-game character being hugged, not herself.

Of course, if she ever caught an Ursaring in real life, she’d patiently help it break that bad habit.

Though that process might be a bit taxing on her.

The chat meanwhile was filled with laughter and cheer.

“Cynthia must be thinking, ‘Good thing it’s not me being hugged!’ hahaha”

“This game is so authentic; even Ursaring’s crushing hug on the trainer is recreated lol.”

“Let’s have a moment of silence for Strawberry Ice Cream.”

And so, Cynthia’s gym battle in Hearthome City concluded perfectly.

She found the researcher Iron Spin mentioned in the house at the gym’s southwest corner, taught Ursaring the move ‘Rock Smash,’ took a deep breath, and prepared to leave Hearthome City.

—Keeping up this momentum, she would head toward the next gym!

But speaking of which, where was the next gym located?

Cynthia opened the game map to check.

It appeared to be in “Flameforge Town.”

But why did that town seem so far away on the map?

Time passed quickly.

Night had fallen.

In a certain villa in the Kanto region, Wataru opened his eyes in bed.

After staying up all night playing Sapphire, then being called out on a mission early morning, and returning home in the afternoon, he felt utterly exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.

Now, upon waking, he immediately sat back at his computer, eager to launch Sapphire again.

For some reason, playing this game always gave him an intense, addictive feeling—as if something deep within his blood was being awakened.

If Ling Feng were here, he could diagnose this immediately.

Yeah, it was clearly gaming addiction with no escape.

After launching the game, having defeated the Fighting Dojo, Wataru arrived at Canalave City’s beach on Old Hatch’s boat.

After easily defeating the surrounding NPCs, like Cynthia, he was troubled for a while by the rivalry between his rivals, Jin and himself.

After countless attempts, Wataru barely passed.

Then, in the science museum, he witnessed an attack by Team Aqua.

When the Submarine Director showed him the stolen blueprint, Wataru was surprised. Although he couldn’t fully understand it, the blueprint looked impressive at a glance, clearly not something made carelessly.

At that moment, he understood why Cynthia had been so firm about the game’s authenticity.

Next, Wataru crossed the big bridge and arrived in Hearthome City.

Unlike Cynthia, he didn’t immediately challenge the gym but began searching the city’s various rooms.

He had discovered a small trick during previous gameplay—the game’s author seemed to have deliberately placed many items, move tutors, and resources around each city.

Some of these rewards could even play a crucial role in upcoming gym battles!

So, upon reaching a new city, thoroughly exploring its surroundings was always a sure bet.

Sure enough, soon Wataru encountered a young woman by a flowerbed on the left.

She immediately asked him, “Sir, please wait. Do you like flowers?”

Wataru thought for a moment and honestly replied, “Some flowers are indeed beautiful. Seeing them bloom all over the hills is full of life. Of course, I like them.”

The young woman smiled and handed him a TM.

“This is Grass Terrain. Using it changes the battlefield’s terrain. Please make good use of it.”

Checking his team, Wataru found that his lead Pokémon, Seedling Bug, could learn this move and promptly taught it.

Besides this TM, Wataru also found several Nuggets in nearby grass, a TM for ‘Substitute,’ a Sun Stone, and a held item called ‘Magnet’ that boosts Electric-type moves.

Unfortunately, none of these could immediately be put to use.

The Nuggets could at least be sold for some cash.

After thoroughly searching around Hearthome City and preparing to challenge the gym, Wataru suddenly noticed a large arcade directly below the gym that he hadn’t visited.

Maybe some useful items were hidden inside?

Without hesitation, he entered the arcade and began searching.

Regrettably, after scouring every corner, he found no items.

After chatting with the front desk attendant, he learned that he could exchange currency for game tokens.

Playing games inside the arcade earned more tokens.

These tokens could be traded at the front desk for useful items, including various TMs, starter Pokémon, and if you saved up 10,000 points, even a pseudo-legendary Dragonite!

But having experienced much hardship in real life, Wataru knew this was just a marketing gimmick.

Arcades like this existed in reality as well, always offering rare Pokémon and valuable items as incentives.

In truth, trying to earn money through the arcade games was nearly impossible—you only lost more.

And for that Dragonite, given the exchange rate between tokens and cash, you’d need at least one million tokens to redeem it!

What did that mean?

He could barely earn over ten thousand by thoroughly exploring the entire Hearthome City.

So Wataru quickly lost interest and turned to leave.

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Just as he was about to step out, something strange caught his eye.

A suspicious man, sneaking near the arcade’s wall corner, suddenly vanished into thin air!

He froze momentarily, then rushed back to where the man had disappeared, scanning the area.

But there was only a wall—nothing else.

No matter if Wataru pressed the talk button or walked up to the spot, there was no reaction.

“Did I just imagine that?” he murmured.

Then, he noticed a landscape painting hanging high on the wall’s upper right.

Instinctively, he moved his character over and pressed the talk button on the painting.

A prompt appeared:

“There seems to be a button behind this painting. Would you like to press it?”

Wataru raised an eyebrow.

There’s definitely something suspicious!

He chose to press it, and another prompt popped up:

“You pressed the switch. The adjacent wall seems to have loosened.”

When he moved his character toward the wall again, it suddenly rotated swiftly, revealing a secret passage!

Inside was a dark corridor. The background music instantly became tense and urgent.

Before Wataru could act, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.

“Who are you, kid? This isn’t a place for you!”

Battle was about to begin. Facing Wataru was an NPC dressed in Team Rocket’s uniform!

Wataru frowned at this sight.

So… this arcade was actually a secret Team Rocket base?

Before he could think further, the NPC sent out their lead Pokémon—a level 45 Mightyena!

Glancing at his own team’s highest-level Pokémon, barely level 25, and then back at the Mightyena, Wataru decisively chose to quit and restart the game.

Clearly, the game’s author designed this Team Rocket secret base to be explored only after reaching a certain level.

But Wataru’s mind was no longer on the game.

What Cynthia told him today had made one thing clear: nothing in this game was made casually!

If Team Aqua’s Waterwurm was real…

Then Team Rocket’s secret base…

After a moment of silence, Wataru made his decision.

This kind of thing was better believed than dismissed.

Team Rocket’s recent eerie silence made him uneasy.

Now that there was a chance to take the initiative, how could he let it slip?

He immediately grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

After a few rings, someone answered with a somewhat annoyed mumble.

“Ugh, it’s so late… Who still calls at this hour?”

“Hello, this is the Kanto Security Department. How may I help you?”

Wataru cleared his throat.

“It’s me.”

The person on the other end instantly became alert.

“Oh! Boss, sorry, sorry, I was half-asleep and didn’t realize it was you.”

“What’s up, boss? Such a late hour—something urgent?”

Wataru was about to say he found clues about Team Rocket in a game.

But he realized that sounded odd and changed his wording.

“I received an important tip from an informant about Team Rocket’s secret operations.”

“Now, take Team 1 and Team 3, and check all arcades in the Kanto region. Especially large ones—thoroughly investigate paintings on walls and trash bins for hidden switches.”

“Be careful not to alert them. If you find anything, contact me immediately; I’ll be there at once.”

“Also, prepare for combat.”

After speaking, Wataru hung up, took a deep breath, and donned his cloak.

He headed outside and released a burly Dragon-type Pokémon onto the open ground.

“Dragonite, time for overtime.”

“Rawr—”

Under the night sky, an orange-yellow figure soared into the air with tremendous momentum, accompanied by fierce wind currents.

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