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Chapter 45: Slateport City Cleared, Team Aqua's Attack?
🕑 Added 2025-08-11 18:30:37 +0000 UTCWhat gave Cynthia a bit of a headache was that her battle with her rival in Slateport City was just as intense as her earlier fight with Paul.
Not only had her opponent’s Torchic successfully evolved, but the other Pokémon on their team were also formidable—four in total.
With Ludicolo already defeated and Teddiursa’s health severely depleted, Cynthia naturally had no chance of victory.
She had to restart and challenge Paul again.
——Since it was a gauntlet battle, maintaining her team’s condition for her rival was crucial—especially Ludicolo, her main powerhouse.
Only he could easily handle her rival’s highest-level Combusken.
And given Paul’s team strength, this was no simple task.
Finally, after half an hour and countless attempts, Cynthia managed to defeat Paul with minimal losses and face her rival.
Even then, the match was intense. With only Sceptile remaining, Cynthia managed to activate the Overgrow ability at critical health and take down her rival’s final Pokémon, Loudred, securing victory.
In this battle, Cynthia showcased her skills to the fullest—making timely defensive switches against her rival’s four Pokémon and perfectly timing Sceptile’s health to trigger Overgrow for the finish. Everything seemed within her expectations.
Clearly, she was adapting to Emerald’s difficulty and approaching battles with the serious mindset befitting a Champion.
After defeating both her rival and Paul, Slateport City’s beach became accessible to Cynthia.
She first visited Slateport’s Pokémon Center to restore her team’s health, then returned to the beach to search for obtainable items. She found a Pearl, an “Aqua Ring” TM, and received “Soft Sand”—which boosts Ground-type moves—from a nearby child.
Of course, Cynthia didn’t skip the challenge in the small house on the left side of the beach, where she could get five free Fresh Waters.
After all this, her team’s Pokémon reached level 25, the current stage cap.
Cynthia decided not to linger and prepared to continue toward Mauville City to the north.
But just then, she triggered a new storyline.
A group of Team Aqua members blocked the northern passage.
From the nearby Slateport Museum came a tremendous commotion.
“What’s happening now?”
She reacted immediately, directing her character toward the museum. Inside, she found a group of Team Aqua members knocking down staff and forcing their way inside.
In the stream chat, viewers couldn’t help but comment:
【Team Aqua again? They sure appear often.】
【Makes sense. The most famous criminal groups in Hoenn are Team Aqua and Team Magma.】
【That means the author basically provoked several criminal organizations—that’s bold.】
【+1, hope the author stays safe…】
Amid the chat, Cynthia entered the museum.
It seemed to be hosting a technology exhibition, but the visitors had all fled from Team Aqua’s sudden attack, leaving it nearly empty.
Only one staff member remained, who rushed over when he saw Cynthia.
“You’re a trainer, right? Please help us! Those guys went straight to the director’s office on the second floor. I think they’re after his belongings!”
“I understand. Leave it to me.”
Cynthia’s gaze sharpened.
Even in real life, she would intervene in such situations—let alone in a game.
Team Aqua, as their name suggested, used many Water-type Pokémon.
Both Sceptile and Ludicolo could deal super-effective damage against them.
These Team Aqua members were weaker than Paul and her rival—just slightly stronger than gym NPCs—so the upcoming battles weren’t difficult.
Five minutes later, in the director’s office on the museum’s second floor—
“Damn it! Where did this brat come from? How dare you interfere with our plans—I’ll remember you!”
Two Team Aqua executives had been defeated by Cynthia, their faces flushed with shame and anger as they retreated.
Then, a figure walked into the office.
The moment he entered, a powerful aura emanated from him, making Cynthia focus intently.
She had only felt this around incredibly strong trainers—like other League Champions who unconsciously emitted a unique presence in battle.
This man’s identity was likely anything but ordinary.
She studied him carefully: stern features, blade-like beard, deep blue bandana, and tight V-neck clothing that exposed a muscular chest.
On his head was a white emblem—a hollow circle with three protrusions.
Team Aqua’s symbol.
Cynthia’s thoughts raced.
In reality, she had dealt with Team Aqua before. The higher their rank, the more fanatical they became.
But the organization was extremely secretive—cautious to a frightening degree.
The League had little information about them—less than a tenth of what was known about Team Rocket.
Their base location, leadership, and goals—almost all of it was unknown.
Could this game give her information on Team Aqua?
Even a little would be valuable.
But given their secretive nature, would the developers even know much?
As she pondered, the man looked at her and spoke slowly:
“Hello there, little lady. Nice to meet you… I’m Archie, leader of Team Aqua.
Our goal is to expand the ocean until the world is engulfed in giant waves.
We will create a new civilization on the remaining land.
You’re young but skilled, so I’ll ask—are you interested in joining us?”
Cynthia: ?
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away in a secret island chamber, the real Archie—who avoided leaking information and always warned his subordinates to be cautious—sneezed.
“Achoo!”
“…Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?”
Back in the game, Cynthia was stunned.
In her experience, Team Aqua was mysterious and cautious.
Yet this “leader” had just revealed their entire plan on sight?
That speech was only missing what color underwear they wore.
In any other game, she would have dismissed it.
But Emerald was different—everything was remarkably faithful to reality.
If Team Aqua’s situation here was real, that could be a serious problem.
She couldn’t be sure whether this Archie was really their leader or if what he said was true, but she memorized everything to report to the League.
Seeing her silence, Archie said:
“I see you lack our grand ambitions. What a pity.”
He snapped his fingers. A blue light shot toward the museum director, then returned to the Pokéball at Archie’s waist.
“When the ocean drowns the world, remember the invitation you refused today.”
With that, Archie left with his executives.
Cynthia frowned—she had expected a battle.
But as Team Aqua’s leader, his strength likely far exceeded hers.
To him, she was just a child.
She turned to the director.
Their goal had probably been achieved.
Sure enough, after checking himself, the director’s expression darkened as he collapsed.
“Oh no… it was still taken…”
Cynthia quickly helped him up.
“Are you alright? What was taken?”
“I’m fine, but the museum’s most precious document was stolen by that man’s Pokémon!
They were blueprints for an advanced submarine that Slateport Shipyard spent ten years developing, capable of withstanding extreme ocean depths.
Now those guys have them!”
Cynthia was stunned.
A submarine? Did they plan to go deep into the ocean? But for what?
She couldn’t tell yet, but Archie’s words gave her a bad feeling.
“Do you have backup blueprints?”
“Yes… But having such technology in their hands is unacceptable.”
The director sighed, then brought up the designs on a nearby computer.
“These are our submarine blueprints. We were going to start construction this month…”
Cynthia looked at them and froze.
Though her specialty was archaeology and mythology, she understood enough to be shocked by the technology.
“Amazing design… this hull structure should greatly reduce underwater pressure, right?”
The director’s eyes lit up.
“Oh! I didn’t expect someone so young to know submarines! You’re absolutely right…”
He explained excitedly, then remembered something.
“Right—young lady, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Stern. Thank you for helping me… you’re the bravest child I’ve met.
To thank you, please take this.”
He handed her a small box.
“This gemstone was found during deep-sea operations. Our machines detected powerful energy, but we don’t know its effects. I think you’ll like it. I hope you can unlock its secrets.”
Cynthia opened it to find a transparent, light-blue sphere with brown and reddish spiral patterns glowing faintly—a work of art.
A golden notification appeared before her:
【Ding! Congratulations, player—you have obtained a special item: Swampert Mega Stone!】
