Meanwhile, online.
Within minutes of the livestream incident, the internet went absolutely nuclear. Posts, screenshots, and screen recordings spread across every platform like wildfire.
[Emerald Game Livestream Gives Physical Rewards]
[Game Studio Teleports Rewards Across Space]
[Rare Candies Are Real!!!]
[Pokémon Livestream Level Up]
Topics like these shot straight to the top of trending lists on every platform, and the discussion was ramping up at an insane pace.
Everyone who saw the news was completely floored. Confusion turned to near-frenzied excitement almost instantly.
The entire world was buzzing over this sudden "game rewards becoming real" event, triggering wave after wave of discussion. The hype was at least ten times more intense than when Emerald first launched!
At the same time, in the Sinnoh region, at the Spear Pillar villa.
Cynthia had just finished carefully examining Garchomp's incredible post-breakthrough condition.
Before she could even catch her breath, her phone on the table started going off like crazy.
Buzz buzz buzz... buzz buzz buzz...
The screen kept lighting up, with lock screen notifications pouring down like a waterfall.
There were ecstatic messages from fans: [Champion Cynthia! Have you played Emerald? Did you get that red box reward?!] There were urgent interview requests from media outlets.
And there were... messages from Kanto Champion Lance. More than one.
Cynthia picked up her phone, skipped past the less important messages, and opened her conversation with Lance.
Lance's messages came one after another, his words practically vibrating with barely suppressed excitement and disbelief:
[Cynthia! Did you see it?! That game! Emerald!]
[It... it just sent me something!]
[A red box! It appeared on my desk out of nowhere!]
[Inside... inside was a Key Stone! And a... a Mega Stone for Gyarados!]
[What the hell is going on?! Did you know about this beforehand?]
Cynthia looked at Lance's messages, her expression unsurprised. She tapped the screen and calmly replied: [Yeah, I knew.]
[Actually, when I cashed out last week's settlement, I already received Garchomp's Mega Stone and Key Stone.]
The message had barely been sent when Lance's reply came back almost instantly. Even through the screen, she could feel his complete confusion:
[???????]
[Wait, you got yours already?!]
[Damn!! Cynthia, why didn't you tell me?! This is huge!!]
A slight smile curved at the corner of Cynthia's lips as she typed her response:
[Tell you?]
[If I'd told you a week ago that I played a game, and then the game sent me a stone that could make my Garchomp undergo Mega Evolution, plus a Key Stone to activate it, would you have believed me?]
Lance went silent for a good while, probably putting himself in her shoes, before reluctantly replying:
[...Okay, fair point.]
[I definitely would've thought you were hallucinating from overtraining, or that some Ghost-type Pokémon was messing with you.]
[Exactly.]
Cynthia typed, ending the discussion about "why didn't you say something earlier?" She knew Lance had already figured it out.
Through their screens, both fell into a brief silence.
The chaos online and the explosive news made them both clearly realize one thing: the game distributing rewards could definitely no longer be kept secret.
This settlement had fifty people on the leaderboard receiving rewards!
Fifty red boxes are appearing out of thin air in front of players all over the world, even during streamers' livestreams.
There was no way this could be kept under wraps. Lance's message came through again, his tone more serious than before:
[Cynthia... this time, so many people got rewards. There's no covering this up anymore.]
[If... if the game keeps giving rewards to more and more players in the future, with higher and higher rankings... then what they give out...]
Lance didn't finish, but his meaning was crystal clear.
Cynthia's gaze fell on the box containing the "Ancient Reins" and "Dynamax Band" on her desk, then she thought of Garchomp's terrifying presence after breaking through its limits, and finally her eyes settled on Sinnoh's clear blue sky outside the window.
She took a deep breath, her gaze sharp and resolute, as her fingers tapped out a reply:
[So what?]
[The world's going to change completely. That's for certain.]
[But we're already standing here.]
On the other side of the screen, Lance in the Kanto region looked at Cynthia's words, stunned for a moment, then immediately understood her meaning.
The two of them, as champions of their respective regions with top-tier strength, were both at the forefront of Emerald's progress rankings!
In the world-changing storm about to be triggered by this game, they'd already secured the most advantageous positions!
With this realization, Lance's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and a smile tinged with excitement and reflection appeared on his face. He typed his reply:
[Yeah... we're already at the front.]
[This really does feel like a dream... a game... actually changing the entire world like this.]
After his moment of reflection, Lance's thoughts immediately returned to the items he'd just received, his tone becoming urgent again:
[Anyway! I'm going to try out this Mega Stone!]
[Cynthia, you said you successfully evolved once before. Any tips? Share the wisdom!]
Cynthia saw Lance's question, and her mind instantly flashed back to not long ago in the depths of the Spear Pillar ruins, facing Regirock's overwhelming, devastating attacks.
In that critical moment, when she and Garchomp's hearts connected and successfully triggered Mega Evolution for the first time.
That feeling... was indescribable.
She thought carefully and replied:
[The most important thing is being in sync with your Pokémon. The depth of your bond determines the stability and power of the evolution.]
[Your mind needs to be completely focused, sensing the connection between you...]
She paused mid-typing, as if remembering something extremely important, then added:
[Oh, right, Lance.]
[For your first attempt...]
[You'd better find somewhere with no people around.]
Lance immediately replied, his tone matter-of-fact:
[Of course! I'm not an idiot. I can't just expose this new power carelessly! I'm planning to go to the depths of Dragon's Den...]
Cynthia saw Lance's reply, realized he'd misunderstood, and quickly interrupted:
[That's not the reason.]
[What I mean is... the energy released by Mega Evolution is incredibly strong, especially the first successful time. If the power fluctuates even slightly and you can't control it...]
She carefully chose her words, describing it as clearly as possible:
[...it could literally blow up everything around you.]
Lance: [???]
On the other side of the screen, Lance, who had been about to rush excitedly to Dragon's Den, saw Cynthia's last message, and his steps came to an abrupt halt.
His expression froze instantly, leaving nothing but question marks filling his mind.
Blow... blow up?!
What does that mean? Energy shockwaves? Or literally... explosions?!
He looked down at the Mega Stone in his hand that contained all that power, then imagined the commotion Gyarados's Mega Evolution might cause.
Cold sweat immediately broke out.
If Cynthia hadn't warned him about this, he really wouldn't have thought of it.
Cynthia watched as the "typing..." indicator at the top of the chat window flashed several times before finally going quiet, leaving only Lance's lonely three question marks.
She knew her warning had gotten through to him.
She put down her phone, no longer concerned with Lance's scrambling, and turned her attention back to her computer screen.
Time to keep playing the game.
Meanwhile, on Iono's end, her livestream's popularity had completely skyrocketed.
After she'd fed the Rare Candy to her Bellibolt and personally witnessed it glow with level-up light and show a clear improvement in strength, the entire online world went crazy.
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! It's real! It's actually real!]
[That Electric attack Bellibolt just used! Definitely stronger than before!]
[Game items can enhance real Pokémon?! What kind of logic is this?!]
[Is Wind Studio some kind of god?!]
[Everyone! Let's go! Play Emerald! Push for the rankings!]
[Streamer's awesome! First one to take the plunge!]
[Streamer, check out that ball! And that blue potion! What do they do?]
[Where are the League officials? Aren't they going to do something about this?!]
[Do something about what?! How would the League even handle this? Better to just download the game right now!]
The chat was completely unreadable now, with donations and super chats flooding the screen like a waterfall.
Even the servers were starting to lag a bit. At the same time, Iono snapped out of her earlier emotional state.
She reached out and picked up the Beast Ball with its deep blue patterns. It felt cool to the touch, and she could faintly sense energy flowing through the patterns.
Then she picked up a bottle of Special Attack Enhancement Supplement. The crystalline blue liquid shimmered with starlight-like radiance under the lights.
She knew what the enhancement supplement did, but wasn't clear about the ball.
So, should she try them out now?
However, just then, someone pounded on her studio door loud enough to shake it, directly interrupting her.
"Iono! Iono! Open up! It's me!" Her assistant Yuina's anxious voice came from outside.
Iono went to open the door, and a girl practically threw herself inside, face pale as a sheet, clutching her personal terminal tightly.
The screen was lit up, completely covered with news alerts about her livestream.
"Io... Iono! Did... did you see? Outside... everything's gone crazy!" Yuina was stammering. "Your phone! My phone! The gym's public hotline! All blown up! All reporters!
And... and someone from the League Investigation Division left a message saying to keep your communications open. They'll contact you soon for questioning!"
Iono seemed quite calm, patting her shoulder.
"Don't panic, Yuina! Stay calm!"
"How can I not panic?!" Yuina was almost in tears. "This... this is too big! Things appearing out of nowhere! And that candy's effects... the League will definitely investigate! Are... are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Iono patted Yuina's shoulder, her eyes actually lighting up. "Not only am I fine, but this is also actually a good thing."
"A good thing?" Yuina froze.
"Right!" Iono nodded vigorously, pointing at the rewards on the desk. "See? These are all real!
Things that can genuinely improve Pokémon's strength! And this is just the fourth-place reward!
What if I can push to an even higher rank? What if I can get good rankings in the new game too?"
She smiled. "Yuina! This is our gym's chance to rise! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
As long as my Pokémon and I become strong enough, will Levincia Gym still worry about not having challengers? Still worry about staying open?"
"Are these things... really as incredible as you say?"
Yuina looked at the fighting spirit burning in Iono's eyes, then at the extraordinary-looking rewards on the desk.
Her chaotic thoughts seemed somewhat infected by this determination. "So... what do we do now?"
"What do we do?" Iono grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth, full of resolve.
"Step one, strike while the iron's hot! Step two, push the rankings with everything we've got!"
She quickly sat back down at her computer, faced the camera, ignored the still-crazy chat, and loudly announced:
"Right now, I'm making an announcement!"
"I, Iono! Levincia Gym Leader! Hereby declare that I will push with full force toward the progress rankings of both Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon Dark Phantom!"
"I'll use livestreaming to show everyone how to efficiently clear the games! Share my strategies!
And of course, I'll be first to test and share the effects of the rewards the game gives out!"
"Want to get stronger? Want to understand this world-changing game? Then lock in on my livestream!"
After saying this, ignoring whatever reaction the chat had, she turned and shouted at the still-dazed Yuina beside her: "Yuina, contact the best PR team for me to handle those reporters and League inquiries!
We only have one requirement: we'll fully cooperate, but game walkthroughs and reward demonstrations must be led by me!"
Yuina was stunned by Iono's decisive energy. This gym leader wasn't usually like this.
She nodded instinctively. "Okay... okay! I'll get right on it!"
After making arrangements, Iono immediately switched back to the "Dark Phantom" game interface, controlling the character who'd just received Torchic.
Without looking back, she rushed out the door, heading toward the neighbor professor's research lab.
Her gaze was more focused than ever before.
Time is money, and also rewards, and even more... everything!
Let's go!!
Meanwhile, in another world.
Roy was still completely oblivious to the massive waves being kicked up on the internet in that other dimension.
He was completely immersed in the fascinating world that Dark Phantom was presenting.
Controlling the character with his same name as he walked out of his house, strolling along the quiet, peaceful streets of Littleroot Town, Roy felt like his eyes weren't enough.
Everything was completely different from the scenes he'd seen in the steel jungle of the city.
He made his character roll in the grass, watching the subtle animation of grass blades bending and springing back, and couldn't help but sigh again.
"Just looking at this... feels so good."
Next, following the guidance, he arrived at Professor Birch's research lab.
One of the professor's assistants warmly received him and, as per usual, presented him with a brand new Pokédex and five Poké Balls.
"Here, this is a Pokédex. It can record information about Pokémon you encounter. And here are Poké Balls, used to catch Pokémon."
The girl on screen had a sweet smile.
Roy looked at the new items in his inventory, excitedly rubbing his hands together.
"So... this is the tool for catching Pokémon? Too cool!"
He immediately selected a Poké Ball, curiously checking its description.
[Poké Ball: The most common ball, used to catch wild Pokémon. Success rate depends on the Pokémon's HP, status conditions, and catch rate.]