A heavy silence spread across the land...
Ye Fan frowned as he swept his gaze over the unexpected arrivals.
If it were just Lance, Lorelei, and Bruno showing up, he could understand. After all, they were native to this Instance.
'But Cynthia?! Why is she here?!' Ye Fan desperately wanted an answer to this question.
As the top-ranked player who had experienced hundreds, if not thousands, of Instances, what kind of situation hadn't he seen before? Whether it was the chaotic three-way battle between Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, or the ancient feud between Groudon and Kyogre... to him, these were as routine as eating and drinking.
But a scene like this?
This was a first.
Especially the way Lance and Cynthia were looking at him. It was like he had committed some unforgivable crime...
Gyeol tensed, warily asking, "What do you want?"
Lorelei's glasses flashed coldly as she smiled, "We don't want anything. But you two… what, planning to hurt him?"
Lance didn't speak. He simply strode over to stand beside Caleb, his cold glare fixed on the two players.
Bruno cracked his knuckles, eyes burning with battle lust, "Perfect timing. I didn't get to fight enough earlier!"
Their intentions were unmistakable.
Gyeol and Ye Fan's expressions darkened instantly.
"Forget these NPCs, take him out first!" Gyeol snapped, "Altaria, Brave Bird!"
Ye Fan: "Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
The already battle-ready Mega Metagross and Mega Altaria moved the instant the commands were given.
Brave Bird and Meteor Mash shot straight toward Caleb, Lucario, and Entei.
They were fast... But someone– no, some dragon was faster.
"Garchomp!" Cynthia's voice carried a barely restrained fury.
"ROAR!"
Garchomp's speed rivaled sound itself. In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of the two Mega Pokémon. A terrifying aura erupted from its body. With a single Dragon Tail, Mega Metagross was launched backward like a ragdoll.
Then, Garchomp twisted mid-air, its scythe-like arms brutally locking onto Mega Altaria mid-Brave Bird...
*CRASH!*
Altaria's head was slammed into the ground.
*Gulp*
Ye Fan couldn't help but swallow hard: 'What kind of monster is that?!'
Even Caleb was stunned. After years apart, Garchomp had grown even stronger!
He had naively thought that after training in the Collapsed World, his Dragonite might finally stand a chance against it.
But now?
'Yeah, no.' He sighed.
Cynthia walked toward them. Only when her eyes landed on Caleb did a trace of warmth appear in her gaze.
"You came back and didn't tell me?" She asked, her tone unreadable.
Cynthia had seen Caleb's adult form before. It was in a newspaper article commemorating outstanding investigators in Kanto. Though his appearance had changed drastically from his childhood, she had recognized him instantly.
Caleb sniffled and said, "I wanted to, but you weren't there. Grandma said you didn't bring your phone."
The two spoke as if no one else were present, their conversation unintelligible to the others.
Lance, who was watching from the side, furrowed his brows in confusion: 'How does he know the Sinnoh Champion? And why do they seem this close?'
But then he remembered Caleb's inexplicable abilities and decided not to dwell on it.
"Onix, Crush Grip!" Bruno commanded.
His Onix coiled around Mega Altaria with terrifying flexibility, immobilizing it completely.
"Altaria!" Gyeol's face twisted in panic.
"Perfect! Now, Gyro Ball!" Bruno grinned.
Onix's coiled body began spinning at a terrifying speed, sending Altaria into a dizzying whirl...
*Thud*
Altaria reverted to its normal form, collapsing unconscious.
At the same time, Jynx's Perish Song took effect on Metagross, rendering it unable to battle.
Seeing this, Ye Fan and Gyeol knew they had lost. Without hesitation, they recalled their Pokémon.
[The Mythical Pokémon Contest has concluded! Player Caleb Chase is the final victor and has earned the right to capture Celebi!]
As the announcement echoed, Ye Fan and Baek Gyeol's bodies dissolved into scattered light particles, forcibly ejected from the Instance.
Just before disappearing, Gyeol shot Caleb a venomous glare and said, "Caleb… I'll remember you!"
Caleb ignored her like she was background noise.
Cynthia, however, glanced in her direction and asked, "Did they leave, just like you did last time?"
"Yeah." Caleb nodded.
"Hm." Cynthia thought for a moment, then asked, "Will you run into them again?"
Caleb answered honestly, "I don't know."
The Instances were random, so there was no telling who he'd encounter next.
Cynthia gave a small nod, her gaze drifting toward Caleb's Lucario, her mind lost in thought.
Caleb didn't notice this. He was busy checking his quest log, searching for a countdown timer signaling his departure.
There wasn't one...
The main quest and the contest were both over. Logically, he should have been kicked out immediately. But strangely, no prompt appeared.
His attention shifted to the small green Pokémon resting inside the shrine.
The revival energy from Ho-Oh had faded.
Celebi, the tiny fairy-like creature, slowly opened its eyes, rubbing them weakly as it sat up on the shrine's statue.
[Player, please attempt to capture Celebi now. You have only one chance. Failure will cause Celebi to vanish from this timeline!]
Caleb stepped forward.
Cynthia and the others seemed to sense something, turning to watch.
"Bi?" Celebi flinched slightly at the approaching human.
Having been hurt by humans before, its first instinct was to retreat.
Caleb didn't force it. He didn't need to capture Celebi. Compared to the Mythical Pokémon, he had more important things to do... Like getting Dragonite and Mimikyu to a Pokémon Center.
So, he simply asked casually, "Want to come with me?"
He fully expected Celebi to refuse.
As a time-traveling Mythical Pokémon, the vast freedom of the forest was surely preferable to the confines of a Poké Ball.
But Celebi paused. It realized something. This human was different from the others it had met. His presence carried a soothing, refreshing aura. One like the crisp scent of a forest after rain.
Celebi liked that smell...
~~~
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