As for Scyther, Kairos figured he'd just have to find another chance to catch one later.
After sweeping through all the available resources in Dewford Town, he dove straight into Granite Cave. After talking to the hiker at the entrance, he obtained the Flash TM without issue.
Honestly, having this move didn't make much difference to him. He already knew every dark cave and hidden corner in the game like the back of his hand.
These map layouts were faithful recreations of the originals.
Still, with so many viewers watching, he had to at least make a show of using it.
Granite Cave was filled mostly with Rock-type Pokémon, which should have been disadvantageous for his Bug-types.
However, on his journey to Dewford Town, Kairos hadn't been slacking off. He had battled plenty of roadside trainers and wild Pokémon. Sewaddle had already reached level 20 and evolved into Swadloon.
The new Grass-type move it learned, Mega Drain, became a powerful weapon against Rock-types, letting Kairos move through the cave smoothly without any obstacles.
His navigation efficiency was so high it almost looked rehearsed. Even in total darkness, he never bumped into a single wall.
Naturally, this sparked another wave of discussion among the viewers.
[I was wondering why he caught that Sewaddle. Turns out it's for this cave.]
[How many times has this guy played this game? He's walking through like it's his own house and didn't even use Flash.]
While chat buzzed with speculation, Kairos had already collected the Fossil from a nearby platform and reached the area controlled by Team Magma.
Those grunts offered no resistance. After all, if he could steamroll Roxanne's gym, these NPCs were no challenge at all.
After clearing out most of Team Magma, Kairos reached the lowest level of the cave. According to the game, this was the area that extended to Regirock's resting place. The livestream chat immediately erupted.
[He's finally here! Go down, I want to see that legendary cutscene again!]
[Time for the classic moment — the legendary's overwhelming presence!]
[Streamer's going too fast. Can he be the first one to actually awaken Regirock? I want to see what it looks like live.]
Most of the viewers had already seen the Regirock cutscene in other streams or clips.
But watching it live always felt different. The sound, the timing, the atmosphere — it gave off a pressure that recordings never could.
Many people specifically joined new playthroughs just to relive that scene.
But then something completely unexpected happened. Kairos glanced at the ladder leading down to the lower level… and turned around.
The chat exploded.
[???]
[Wait, what? You're not going? There's a legendary down there!]
[He's seen it before, hasn't he?]
[Did he get scared last time and doesn't want to go through that trauma again?]
Ignoring the flood of question marks, Kairos continued moving his character back while speaking calmly.
"To awaken the Rock Titan, don't you need to collect a bunch of valuable stones to charge up its formation?"
He paused, then continued, "If that's the case, why rush down there now? I'll come back when I've gathered enough."
The chat fell silent.
[Wait… that actually makes sense.]
[True, going now would just be sightseeing.]
[Come on, just take a look anyway!]
Amid the protests, Kairos left Granite Cave.
After speaking with Steven, he obtained a Sun Stone.
For his Bug-type run, it wasn't useful for evolution, but it could later help awaken Regirock in this save file.
According to the game's logic, Steven's stones were of exceptionally high quality and could accelerate the altar's energy charge.
After collecting it, Kairos healed at the Pokémon Center and headed straight for Dewford Gym, cutting through the trainers with Beautifly.
Beautifly had reached level 22 and learned Air Cutter. For the Fighting-types in this gym, it was practically a death sentence.
In just a few minutes, he cleared all the trainers and stood before the Gym Leader, Brawly.
By now, the stream's viewership had climbed to 100,000.
Only then did everyone realize he'd already reached the second gym. The chat lit up again.
[This gym isn't easy, right? Can Beautifly really sweep it?]
[Didn't you see how he destroyed Roxanne? Who knows anymore.]
[Brawly's team is strong though. That Speed Boost Combusken, that Makuhita, and most of them have Fire-type moves. This might be rough.]
[True, and he can't just set up Reflect either. If he wastes a turn doing that, Combusken will use Swords Dance and cancel it out. He might get swept.]
[Yeah, I don't believe he can one-shot his way through this.]
Kairos glanced at the fast-scrolling comments and smiled slightly.
If he had to name the easiest gym in the entire run, it was this one.
Difficult?
No way. This was a freebie.
He stepped forward and started the battle.
The match began with Beautifly on the field — the core of his strategy. As predicted, Brawly led with Combusken.
[Here it comes! Swords Dance, Baton Pass, Speed Boost, and even a Focus Sash. This combo is ridiculous. If the streamer doesn't handle this well, he's done.]
[I'm stuck on this part myself. Tried training Rock-types, but they get one-shotted by Fighting moves.]
[Yeah, even a Sturdy Geodude can't survive. Double Kick just deletes it.]
[If he can't set up walls, I don't know how he wins.]
While chat was analyzing, Kairos instantly selected his move — Air Slash.
Beautifly moved first. Its wings flared, forming a cutting gust that struck Combusken head-on.
Beautifly used Air Slash! Critical hit! Super effective!
Combusken's HP dropped straight to zero. One hit KO.
The chat went wild.
[??? One-shot?!]
[Even with a crit, doesn't it have a Focus Sash?]
[Yeah, I remember Cynthia's stream — she used Fake Out just to break that sash.]
As Brawly switched to his next Pokémon, Kairos caught sight of the comments and raised an eyebrow.
In the original Ultimate Emerald, Combusken didn't have a held item. He had left it that way when designing the game.
Apparently, Cynthia's misunderstanding had made viewers think otherwise, spreading the myth that it held a Focus Sash.
Still, it wasn't a bad idea.
If Combusken had a Focus Sash, even a super effective move wouldn't stop it from setting up Swords Dance and passing the buffs through Baton Pass.
That actually made sense. He'd fix that after the stream.
Unaware of the trouble their speculation had caused, the chat kept buzzing as Brawly sent out his second Pokémon — Hariyama.
Kairos didn't hesitate. He used Air Cutter again.
The sharp wind sliced across the battlefield. It wasn't a critical hit, but the next message surprised even him:
Hariyama flinched!
He had only meant to chip away at its health, not expecting a flinch.
With that advantage, the rest was easy. A second Air Cutter finished Hariyama off.
Now Brawly was down to his last Pokémon: Makuhita.
Beautifly was still in perfect shape, only missing a few PP.
The outcome was obvious.
Just to play it safe, Kairos switched to Butterfree and used the classic Sleep Powder and Supersonic combo.
Two more Air Cutters later, Makuhita fainted. Victory music played, and the chat finally caught up.
[I just got here. Didn't everyone say this game was hard? Why does it look so easy for him?]
[He beat the gym leader faster than he cleared the NPCs…]
[Funny how a Fighting-type gym lost to an all-Bug team.]
[You're laughing, but you couldn't even beat Combusken.]
Some viewers soon noticed something else.
[Wait, he cleared the second gym in under two hours?]
[Not even — one hour and twenty-eight minutes.]
[That's insane. He might actually finish the new story content in a week.]
[At this pace, he could set a speedrun record.]
[No way. He just got lucky with a crit and a flinch.]
[True, but I have no idea how he'll handle the Electric gym.]
That last comment caught Kairos's eye.
It was a fair point.
Beautifly's weakness to Electric moves like Thunderbolt would be hard to work around, and by then, the NPCs' Pokémon would all be near level 30.
Beautifly's stat advantage would be gone.
But Kairos wasn't worried.
If everything stayed easy, the challenge wouldn't mean anything.
A real challenge was what made the game — and the stream — fun.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones