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Chapter 121: Maxim: Wait, What the Hell??
🕑 Added 2025-09-15 19:43:37 +0000 UTCIn the darkness, time seemed to pass without measure.
When the sharp smell of disinfectant pierced her nostrils, Cynthia's consciousness gradually returned.
Under the soft white light, she slowly opened her eyes, her blurry vision taking in an unfamiliar white ceiling.
Her body felt like it had been crushed by boulders everywhere, aching all over, and her throat was so dry it felt like she'd swallowed a handful of sand, making it nearly impossible to speak.
She seemed to be lying in a hospital?
"Grr!"
Just then, six shadows of different colors pounced on her simultaneously. Garchomp gently nuzzled her cheek with its snout, Glaceon placed its cool little paws on the back of her hand, Milotic carefully wrapped the tip of its tail around her wrist, while Roserade, Gastrodon, and Spiritomb clustered around both sides of the hospital bed.
"Everyone..."
Cynthia instinctively tried to lift her hand to pet them, but found that even this simple movement caused her muscles to spasm wildly, making it impossible.
Only then did she notice that her entire body was wrapped in bandages, with an IV line connected to her left arm.
"Miss Cynthia! You're finally awake!"
A familiar male voice rang out from beside her ear. A middle-aged man wearing round-framed glasses jumped up from a chair in the corner of the room - it was the archaeological team leader, Maxim.
He had dark circles under his eyes, clearly having kept vigil here for a long time, but his eyes were now bursting with excitement.
Maxim first frantically pressed the call button, nearly knocking over the water glass on the bedside table, then rushed to the hospital bed and offered the water glass to Cynthia.
"You've been asleep for a day and a night!" Maxim said in a trembling voice. "Your Pokémon recovered a bit faster... they were all healed last night under treatment from the hospital's Chansey."
Cynthia tried to sit up to take the water glass. Garchomp immediately used its wing to support her back, but the movement nearly aggravated the wound on her chest, and a sharp pain made her vision go black instantly...
Milotic's eyes immediately lit up with a brilliant glow, and the glass of water was now floating quietly in front of her.
Cynthia managed to take a sip of water, finally feeling her throat improve slightly.
At the same time, memories from before she lost consciousness came flooding back like a tide - the ruins, Regirock, that dazzling rainbow light...
She shook her head.
"Where's Caitlin?"
"In the next room. Her power was completely drained too, and she needs a long time to recover," Maxim said, taking back the empty glass. "But she's in much better condition than you. Nurse Joy said she just needs two days of rest."
Cynthia was silent for several seconds, seemingly thinking about something.
"And the archaeological team members... they're all okay?"
"They're fine, thanks to you." Maxim's voice suddenly became choked up. "You were amazing." His gaze became distant, as if he was seeing again that unforgettable scene from that day - Cynthia standing in the collapsing ruins hall, she and Garchomp bathed in rainbow light, standing before everyone, facing off against that legendary giant Pokémon head-on!
Cynthia's gaze also suddenly focused as she finally remembered - in that rainbow-colored light, Garchomp's form had undergone a dramatic change! Its body grew taller, its back fin split, and its front claws transformed into incredibly sharp blades... its strength had also increased to an unimaginable level in an instant!
So... was that Mega Evolution?!
But Mega Evolution doesn't exist in this world! That's only something from the games, isn't it??
Wait...
Cynthia seemed to remember something and suddenly looked down at her neck - the necklace was hanging quietly on her chest.
She used all her strength to lift one hand, trembling as she took it off and opened it, examining it carefully under the hospital room's light.
When Garchomp had given this to her before departure, she hadn't paid much attention to it, thinking it was just some small accessory she had casually placed somewhere.
But now, she realized that wasn't the case...
The pendant's outer shell had opened into two halves, with the silver chain's top embedded with a mysteriously flowing seven-colored gem, and a crystal-clear blue crystal with internal spiral structures of deep red and blue intertwined, looking like a glass marble...
These two items flickered with mysterious halos under the sunlight streaming through the window, reflecting Cynthia's face within them.
These were a Mega Stone and Key Stone??!
Cynthia's breathing almost stopped. She clearly remembered Garchomp saying this was found in the study, but how could such things possibly be in her study?
Wait, unless...
An absurd thought flashed through Cynthia's mind.
She closed her eyes and silently thought.
[Game Rewards!]
The familiar semi-transparent golden interface with red text instantly appeared before Cynthia's eyes. This window that had suddenly appeared the night ranking rewards were distributed now displayed all the rewards she had received.
[Rare Candy Gift Box (Intermediate) x2]
[Mega Evolution Gift Set x1]
[The above rewards have been distributed, please pay attention to claiming them!]
Cynthia felt her heart shake violently, her entire consciousness beginning to feel somewhat dazed.
Mega Stone?? Key Stone?!
This really was a game reward??
She gripped the necklace tightly, recalling Garchomp's appearance at that time in her mind.
So... this incredible power of Mega Evolution... actually exists for real?!
But why didn't she see this so-called "set" when she claimed the rewards?
Just as Cynthia's mind was racing with thoughts, a voice brought her consciousness back to reality.
"...Miss Cynthia? Are you alright? Should I call Nurse Joy to take a look?"
Maxim looked puzzledly at the Champion's suddenly pale complexion and couldn't help but speak up.
"No, no need." Cynthia forced a smile and quickly put away the necklace.
She couldn't explain anything about Mega Evolution right now, and even she still felt like she was dreaming.
Just then, she noticed that Maxim was holding a thick stack of files and photos, and instinctively asked:
"What are these?"
"Ah! These are our new discoveries from the ruins!" As soon as archaeological matters were mentioned, Maxim immediately seemed like a different person, excitedly spreading the photos and materials across the hospital bed to show Cynthia.
"Look, after you resolved the danger, our people found three hidden chambers behind the main hall! The first was filled with golden vessels and gems, the second contained a large number of ancient scrolls recording extensive information about that ancient civilization, but what shocked us most was the third one—"
He searched around and pulled out a close-up photo from the bed, showing a bronze treasure chest covered in runes.
"This chest contained five stone tablets, and except for this temple, each one corresponds to the location of another temple! According to the parchment scrolls found at the same time, these temples each house five 'Guardians' in slumber..."
While listening to Maxim's enthusiastic explanation, Cynthia absent-mindedly flipped through the photos.
Compared to these ancient civilization artifacts, she was actually more concerned about Regirock itself.
From the battle records, Regirock's strongest demonstrated ability was absorbing various energy attacks, but based on the performance of legendary Pokémon in the games, Cynthia felt this shouldn't be its true combat level.
This judgment was based on Garchomp's strength after Mega Evolution. Although the power Garchomp unleashed after Mega Evolution did indeed exceed her understanding, it shouldn't have been enough to directly overpower a legendary Pokémon like Regirock.
This situation... was as if... Regirock hadn't even fully awakened at all.
Suddenly, her gaze stopped on a photo taken from the main hall - five statues surrounding the central plaza, but in the very center of the platform, there were traces on the ground indicating a massive statue had once existed there.
This scene made her heart tighten.
In Emerald, the palace she discovered in the desert, based on her speculation, very likely hid an even more powerful legendary Pokémon that commanded several Regis, like Lugia...
So could the position of that central statue correspond to that being?
But where was it now?
Cynthia felt a chill down her back as an ominous premonition crept into her heart.
- An incompletely awakened Regirock was already so terrifying, let alone the being she speculated about!
She could only hope her speculation was wrong...
While lost in thought, Cynthia's somewhat clearer mind suddenly snapped back as she remembered something.
More than that...
She suddenly looked up and interrupted Maxim.
"You said I've been asleep for how long?!"
"A day and a night." Maxim was startled, not understanding why Cynthia suddenly changed the topic. This Champion should be just as interested in ancient civilizations as he was, right?
Upon hearing this, Cynthia immediately reached for the phone on the bedside table, her fingers trembling slightly as she unlocked it with her fingerprint.
When she had downloaded Emerald before, she had noticed a mobile app link on the official website and had downloaded it casually.
At this moment, she could see the glaring red number "1" on that icon, indicating a new message notification.
When she opened the app and entered the ranking interface, the content made her pupils contract:
[Your ranking has changed!]
[Current Progress Ranking]:
No.1 Passerby (Cleared Mt. Chimney!)
No.2 Electric Rules (Cleared Petalburg Gym!)
No.3 Dragon Rules (Challenging Petalburg Gym!)
No.4 Strawberry Ice Cream (Cleared Weather Institute!)
Sure enough, during the two days she had been lying in the hospital, Lance and Iono's game progress had overtaken hers.
But even if it were just that, Cynthia could still accept it, but where did this player called "Passerby" come from??
Her gaze immediately focused as she made her decision.
"Garchomp, we're going back!"
Without hesitation, Cynthia recalled all her Pokémon except Garchomp and threw off the covers.
She yanked out the IV needle in her hand directly, immediately causing a string of blood drops to seep from the back of her hand, but Cynthia couldn't care about that. She grabbed her cape from the chair, threw it over her hospital gown, and ran barefoot toward the window on the cold floor.
Garchomp understood, leaping up and flying out the window, waiting for Cynthia to jump onto its back.
"Miss Cynthia! The doctor said your body hasn't fully recovered yet, don't run around!" Maxim frantically tried to stop Cynthia, his glasses sliding askew.
He really didn't understand why Cynthia suddenly seemed like she'd been stimulated by something... one second she was lying there fine, the next second she was jumping out of bed to leave.
"I have urgent business. We'll discuss the ruins over the phone." Cynthia's voice regained the authority of a Champion as she gently pushed past Maxim, leaped out the window, and disappeared into the sky with Garchomp.
"...?"
Maxim stood there stunned, completely unable to understand what had happened.
And coincidentally, just then, the hospital room door was suddenly pushed open.
A man walked in holding a bouquet of flowers, his red cape swaying gently behind him.
"Huh? Where's Cynthia?"
Lance looked around the empty hospital bed, confusion showing on his face.
"Didn't the doctor say she just woke up?"
"She... she just suddenly ran off," Maxim stammered. "She seemed very urgent about something."
Lance blinked, then suddenly showed an expression of dawning realization, his tone full of understanding.
"Oh, I know. She probably went to play that game."
"???"
Maxim was instantly bewildered.
Wait, what the hell??
