"That's Entei!" The sharp-eyed players immediately recognized the Pokémon standing atop the tower.
"Is it the Mythical Pokémon from this Instance? That doesn't seem right. Entei is supposed to be a tier-three Legendary, isn't it?" A top-fifty ranked player frowned.
Another player cracked his knuckles, eager for action, "Who knows? Only one way to find out!"
As the group observed Entei, in turn, Entei scrutinized the humans below.
The reason it had taken such a risk to come here was because it had sensed an indescribable, peculiar aura... one tempered by the trials of war, steeped in blood, and radiating an unyielding resilience amidst the smoke of battle.
Soon, Entei found its target in the crowd. It was a plainly dressed young man who stood absentmindedly fiddling with an old flip phone.
At the same time, it noticed several humans eyeing it with unmistakable greed.
That look was all too familiar to Entei. It had seen it many times before in the eyes of humans as it passed through their towns.
In an instant, Entei understood their intentions: they wanted to capture it.
Its expression instantly turned cold. Narrowing its golden eyes, it coldly regarded the humans and their Pokémon charging toward it.
Then, Sacred Fire erupted from its maw, painting the entire sky crimson.
The attacking Pokémon were instantly obliterated.
The players were stunned...
"What the hell?! How is this Entei so strong?!"
Ye Fan, who had held back to observe the situation, glanced at the shocked player and said succinctly, "Rules."
With the Infinite World's rules in play, it was clear that this Entei could not be captured by players.
Gyeol smiled coquettishly and said softly, "Calm down. We're in a cutscene right now."
"Huh? Oh!" The player was momentarily dazzled by her smile and could only nod dumbly.
Gyeol said nothing more. She glanced at Ye Fan's profile before turning her attention back to Entei.
Sure enough, without player interference, the plot progressed smoothly.
With a graceful leap, Entei descended from the 20-meter tower, its mane billowing in the wind as it landed unharmed on the ground.
Then, in front of everyone, it walked straight toward Caleb who was still engrossed in playing Snake on his phone.
Players: "???"
Caleb: "?"
Confused, he looked up at the two-meter-tall, majestic Entei standing before him.
Since he couldn't reach Cynthia, he had been distracted and hadn't paid much attention to Entei's earlier display.
Besides, it was just an Entei. He had already met Dialga and Palkia, Legendaries like Zapdos and Entei no longer stirred any excitement in him.
Speaking of Entei, this was a good time to mention Suicune...
During his last break between Instances, Caleb had caught up on the latest Pokémon Anime and, coincidentally, he saw the episode where Suicune thrashed in a net before being captured by Goh with a single Poké Ball.
As a result, he now felt a strange disconnect with Entei and Raikou, Suicune's counterparts.
Just as Caleb was lost in thought, a notification suddenly popped up.
[Entei has requested to join your team. Will you accept?]
[Accepting will unlock the main quest and officially begin the Mythical Pokémon Contest!]
'Huh? Since when did good things just fall into my lap?'
While he didn't know why Entei had chosen him, a free Legendary was a free Legendary...
Caleb promptly accepted. The next second, the quest updated:
[Entei has joined your team! You have temporarily gained command of Entei!]
[Phase Two of the main quest has officially begun!]
[Main Quest: Fulfill Entei's requests...]
[Request 1: Rescue the children captured by Team Rocket.]
[Request 2: Help Entei track down the Masked Man.]
[Request 3: Defeat the Masked Man and free Ho-Oh from his grasp!]
...
At the same time Caleb accepted Entei's request, the other players received a notification:
*Ding!*
[Global Announcement: The Entei Arc main quest has officially begun!]
[Remaining unactivated main quests: 2.]
[Players who activate the Legendary Beast quests will qualify for the Mythical Pokémon Contest. All others will be eliminated from the Instance!]
"What?!"
The players erupted into chaos:
"What was going on?"
"Only three slots for this Mythical Pokémon Contest? Then why the hell did the Infinite World hand out so many tickets?!"
Among the crowd, Ye Fan frowned at the notification, then glanced at the player chosen by Entei...
As everyone knew, Johto's three Legendary Beasts were Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. With one slot already taken, only Suicune and Raikou remained.
But the critical issue was that no one knew where Suicune and Raikou were, nor how to earn their recognition.
The players competing in this Mythical Pokémon Contest were no ordinary trainers. They had climbed to the top 100 of the leaderboard not just through their Pokémon's strength, but their own wits.
Soon, they arrived at the same conclusion as Ye Fan: Only two slots remained, but there were fifteen players present. That meant thirteen would lose their chance at the Mythical Pokémon Contest and be ejected from the Instance.
While the others racked their brains, Caleb was already formulating a detailed plan for his main quest.
Step one: Report Pryce, the Gym Leader of Mahogany Town.
'But who should I report to?'
Given the current state of the world, the lore was too convoluted. Caleb wasn't even sure if Johto's Elite Four were affiliated with Team Rocket...
*Click!*
The sound of a camera shutter snapped Caleb out of his thoughts.
He looked up to see a crowd of onlookers snapping photos of him and Entei, who sat beside him like an oversized house cat...
....
That afternoon, Lance hurriedly finished his lunch, preparing to continue his investigation into the recent child abductions...
But before he could leave, Lorelei pushed him back into the dining room. Her expression was grim.
"What's wrong? Did something else happen?" Lance asked, puzzled.
"He's back." Lorelei pressed her lips together and spoke gravely.
Lance didn't understand and asked, "Who?"
Instead of explaining, Lorelei slapped a newspaper onto the table.
Lance looked down and immediately spotted the front-page photo.
The bold headline read:
<..BREAKING NEWS! Entei Appears in Ecruteak City and Gets Cozy with a Male Trainer!..>
Lance's expression shifted instantly, "I need to find him."
Lorelei nodded, "I'm coming with you."
~~~
Stones and Reviews please...
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