Let you make a game, what the hell is Pokemon?.

Chapter 161 Professor Oak's Advice, Shallow Cave? (4k)

Meanwhile, far away in the Sinnoh region, Cynthia's situation was not going smoothly.

The investigation into "Zero Island" has stalled. She has used many personal connections and even subtly sought advice from the Kanto League through the Sinnoh League's channels, but all the replies she received were "never heard of it" and "there is no record of this island in the files."

This complete blank space made her even more uneasy. An island chosen by the Rockets as an important base could not have appeared out of thin air and was not recorded in the league's archives at all.

Left with no other option, Sheena resorted to the most primitive and cumbersome method—to conduct a thorough search of the marine archives of all registered and unregistered islands in the Kanto region.

For hours on end, she was immersed in a vast array of charts and data, the blinking cursor on the screen sweeping across islands large and small, from the famous Seven Islands to many nameless islands that only existed in explorers' notes.

The area around the gate is so vast, and the area around Kanto has always been a complex region interwoven with shipping routes and legends. Searching for it based on just one name is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Her eyes were sore from staring at the screen for so long, so Cynthia rubbed her temples and let out a long breath.

"This is too inefficient," she muttered to herself, finally stopping her somewhat futile effort.

At least, thanks to the warning provided by Lance, she has notified the League to quietly raise the security level of several key facilities and launch a major search for Team Rocket in the Kanto region. This is the only realistic response she can take at the moment.

So continuing to waste time on this inefficient search doesn't seem to be the best option.

Perhaps the breakthrough still lies in that game called Emerald...
The intelligence there is not only quite astonishing, but it also seems to always be ahead of reality, with many things yet to happen.

She decided to temporarily withdraw and focus her main energy back on the world of the game. Perhaps she could find clues about "Zero Island" in the later plot?
Just as she was about to sit down at her computer and re-enter the game, the communicator on her desk suddenly rang urgently.

The caller ID showed it was Professor Oak.

"Hello? Professor Oak?" Cynthia answered the phone, her voice sounding somewhat tired. After all, she had been searching for a long time, which had been quite mentally taxing.

"Oh! Zhu Lan! Great, you're online!"

Professor Oak's voice was still full of energy, not at all like that of an old man, and even more excited than usual:

"I have great news for you! Didn't you tell me to keep an eye out for special rocks and evolution stones? I've spent a lot of time in several caves in the game these past few days, and it wasn't a waste of time, hahaha! With the quantity and quality I've collected so far, I feel it's definitely enough to awaken that big guy!"

He was referring to Regirock, the Geo Registeel, from the Martial Arts Cave in the game!

Cynthia then realized that before they went all out to track Team Rocket and Team Magma, they had indeed entrusted Professor Oak with the task of collecting the items.

"Doctor, you've searched for so long, thank you for your hard work. But..."

Cynthia's voice carried a hint of apology and seriousness.

"Judging from the current situation, it seems that the matter of waking up the Geo Regiment in the game will have to be put on hold for now."

"Huh? Put it aside for a while?" Professor Oak's excitement was immediately dampened, as if doused with a bucket of cold water. His tone became somewhat confused, and then quickly changed:
"That's a legendary Pokémon, Cynthia! Did they encounter some special circumstances over there?"

He realized it too—given Cynthia's interest in legendary Pokémon, her reaction shouldn't have been like this.
Cynthia took a deep breath.

She then realized that since triggering the Mount Sacred Mountain event, she had been in close communication with Wataru, but had forgotten to share this astonishing information with another important person—Professor Oak.
“Professor, the situation is very complicated. How should I put it? Lance and I have been through a lot in the game.” Cynthia organized her thoughts and began to summarize their recent experiences to Professor Oak.

She began by recounting how she and Lance infiltrated Team Rocket's underwater base, talking about the horrific Pokémon experiments, mentioning the project called "Project Twilight," and the Team Rocket plan they eventually discovered regarding the creation of artificial legendary Pokémon, as well as the mutated Eevee whose power was extremely unstable after being tortured.

She then mentioned witnessing Team Magma and Team Aqua steal the Crimson and Indigo Orbs respectively at the Volcano, and subsequently tracking down Team Aqua's sea base, learning of their insane plan to control the ancient Pokémon to expand the ocean.
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, with only Professor Oak's occasional gasps coming through.

Cynthia's narration was clear and easy for anyone to understand, but the amount of information was undoubtedly enormous. Even Professor Oak, who was well-informed and a former champion, needed time to digest it all.

"Artificial legendary Pokémon? Team Magma and Team Aqua actually want to control legendary Pokémon to change the world order?"

Professor Oak's voice finally rang out again, this time with a hint of seriousness.

Despite his usual jovial and easygoing demeanor, his attitude completely changes when it comes to crucial moments like this.

"This is too much information; I'm really struggling to process it all. Zhu Lan, are you sure this is all revealed in the game? This... this is more exaggerated than anything we've encountered in the past few decades."

“Of course I’m sure, Professor Oak.”

Cynthia's tone was heavy.

"The game's prophetic and realistic nature has already been proven, and Lance has experienced it firsthand. Team Rocket in the real world is definitely plotting something, and the two organizations in the Hoenn region are far more dangerous than we previously assessed... The League underestimated them."

She paused, then realized the key point: "Professor, regarding Team Magma and Team Aqua's target, those two might be legendary Pokémon. In the games, I only know that one is related to the earth and the other to the ocean, possessing unimaginable power. But more specific information is needed, so I'm guessing it might be those two... Have you heard of any legends or myths related to them?"

“Earth and sea, you mean…” Professor Oak murmured, as if he were searching his memory for relevant information.

After a moment, he finally spoke:
"If it's those two guys, according to some extremely ancient and even unverifiable mythological records from the Hoenn region, such Pokémon do exist. I remember what I read about them... what was it again?"

After a brief pause, Professor Oak's tone became distant and his intonation completely changed, as if he were reciting some ancient legend:
"Legend has it that in the distant past, the world was covered by endless rain and surging waves. It was the 'giant god who bears the earth' who rose from the abyss, expanded the continent, and provided a place for all things to live."

"In contrast, the 'giant god who controls the ocean' controls all the water flow and rainfall, and its power is enough to turn the ocean into mulberry fields and make the ocean submerge everything again."

"However, due to the great antiquity of the era, there are numerous and incomplete versions of the legends from various places, and their specific names have even been lost in many ancient texts. Some ancient clay tablets record them with symbolic symbols, calling them 'the primordial masters of the earth' and 'the initial masters of the sea.' It is said that they once fought a world-destroying battle and later fell into a long slumber. If the Lava Team and the Aqua Team are indeed targeting them and attempting to control this power..."

Professor Oak's voice was filled with deep worry, and he paused for a moment before continuing:
"That would trigger a global catastrophe, which is really not good."

Cynthia listened quietly, her unease deepening. It seemed Professor Oak also knew about those two; this account corroborated the information in the game, undoubtedly intensifying her anxiety.

"In that case, we need to hurry."

Cynthia spoke, her voice regaining its usual calm.

“Professor Oak, investigations in the real world are very important. Regarding Team Rocket’s ‘Zero Island,’ I’m afraid I’ll need you to use your reputation and connections to help me find it. As for more detailed records of these ancient myths, you may need to conduct in-depth investigations at the League Headquarters Ancient Archives in Indigo Plateau.”

That archive is the best and largest in the world, containing the most complete and oldest documents in Kanto and other regions. Even Cynthia may not have the authority to enter freely.

But Dr. Oak, as a top-tier research scholar, certainly has the qualifications.

"Don't worry, Zhulan, leave it to me."

Professor Oak responded immediately, his tone serious.

"I'm going to the Quartz Plateau now. This information is too crucial and must be investigated thoroughly. I'll put the Rock God Pillar matter in the Martial Arts Cave aside for now; it's not really that important right now."

“Yes.” Cynthia nodded.

"Watari and I will continue to advance the game and try to find more clues, especially about the next moves of those two organizations. We must stay ahead of them."

"Okay! Keep in touch! I'll notify you immediately if I find anything."

Professor Oak hung up the phone quickly after speaking, presumably to immediately begin preparations for his trip to the Indigo Plateau.

Cynthia put down the communicator and turned her gaze back to the computer screen.

She took a deep breath, put on her headphones, and gripped the mouse tightly. Next target: Green Ridge City. She had to move quickly to see if she could obtain any further plot clues.

At the same time, on the other side.

After a journey that was intermittent due to training Eevee, Lance's character finally traversed mountain paths and a wide body of water that required surfing. After defeating numerous NPCs blocking the way, he finally arrived at Moriarty City, a coastal city in the eastern part of the Hoenn region.

The city has a tranquil and open feel, with a gentle sea breeze and a huge rocket launch tower in the distance, which is the famous space center of the Hoenn region.

In the past, Wataru would have carefully observed and appreciated these in-game scenes, since he himself hadn't been to the Hoenn region much.

But at this moment, Lance clearly had no intention of appreciating the scenery. The pressure of moving forward quickly was simply too great. His primary goal now was to challenge the gyms here and obtain the seventh gym badge.

Following the directions on the game map, he quickly located the Green Moss Gym.

The dojo has a unique exterior, with walls covered in various patterns of the universe and planets, emitting a dim light, just like the universe itself.

However, when he pushed open the gym door with his character, the expected gym battle did not begin immediately.

The dojo was dimly lit and unusually quiet, with only a few young trainers talking in hushed tones. The dojo master was nowhere to be seen.

Just as Du was feeling a little confused, a little girl NPC with pigtails who looked only seven or eight years old rushed over and blocked his way, her face full of anxiety.

"Are you a very strong trainer? Please, please help us!"

The little girl spoke urgently, her voice trembling with tears.

Watari immediately pressed the interaction button to respond: "What happened? What do you need me to do?"

"It's my kitty!"

The little girl was almost in tears.

"It ran to that cave in the north of the city that always makes a howling wind in order to chase a blue, sparkly butterfly! It's so dark and cold there, I'm too scared to go in too deep by myself. My parents say it's dangerous there and won't let me go. But Little Meow has been inside for a very, very long time!"

"I asked the two museum owners to help me look for them, but they haven't come back yet!"

The little girl tugged at the character's clothes and continued, "Big brother, please, please help me find Little Meow Meow and the gym leader, okay? They are my best friends!"

Without a doubt, this should be the prelude to triggering the gym challenge.

Faced with such a request, Wataru naturally had no reason to refuse and immediately chose to accept.

"That's great! Thank you, powerful trainer!" The little girl smiled through her tears and continued, "Please be careful, that cave seems a little different from before, it's been very cold lately."

Having accepted the mission, Lance temporarily put aside the gym challenge, turned around and left the Mossdeep Gym, and following the mission instructions, set off using Surf in the direction north of the city.

After crossing an ocean, he hadn't gone far when a cave hidden behind a rocky mountain, with a faint chill seeping from its entrance, appeared before him.

According to the map, this is the destination: "Shallow Beach Cave".

As soon as Du approached, he could hear a series of whistling sounds coming from the depths of the cave, like the wind whistling through narrow crevices, as if the entire mountain was trembling slightly.

For some reason, a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in his heart.

I have a feeling... something's not quite right about the situation inside this cave...
(End of this chapter)