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Chapter 37: Time to Sleep Indeed
🕑 Added 2025-08-11 04:24:37 +0000 UTCAt this moment, Cynthia couldn't help but feel somewhat emotional.
For a brief instant just now, she had even forgotten that this was just a game.
Meanwhile, the livestream chat was heatedly discussing this Dewford Gym battle.
You have to understand, when challenging the first gym against Roxanne, Cynthia had tried over and over again countless times before finally succeeding.
But this time at Dewford Gym, she cleared it in just a few attempts.
So quite a few people felt it was a bit too easy this time.
[Is it just me, or did Dewford Gym feel way easier than Roxanne's, even though it had its own challenges?]
[I also think this gym battle's difficulty was a bit low.]
[Low my ass! Think carefully—without Ludicolo, how would you even fight this?]
This comment made everyone in the livestream suddenly realize the truth.
—That's actually right!
Under normal circumstances, Cynthia's team should consist of Pokémon like Stufful and Grovyle that hadn't evolved to their final forms yet.
At such power levels, you can imagine just how difficult it would be to handle that Speed Boost Baton Pass Combusken, or the Guts ability self-harming Makuhita.
Even that seemingly "cute and cuddly" final Makuhita could one-punch KO Ludicolo!
Not to mention that even with Ludicolo, Cynthia's victory this time involved some luck.
If Zen Headbutt hadn't triggered the flinch effect in the third turn, the one left standing might not have been Ludicolo, but a Guts Makuhita with some health remaining and Mach Punch!
So this time it wasn't that the gym battle was too simple, but purely because Cynthia had surpassed the power level she should have at this stage, plus luck was helping her!
The viewers who came to their senses immediately changed their tune.
[Thanks to boss Steven's gifted Water Stone—that was truly crucial!]
[True, without Ludicolo holding the fort, I can't even imagine how desperate the battle would've been.]
[Speaking of which, isn't Iono about to reach this gym soon? Hehe, she's gonna be in for a world of hurt, isn't she?]
[Iono: What gibberish are you saying? Paralysis tactics, activate!]
While the chat discussed, as the gym battle ended, Brawly's figure appeared on screen again.
He spoke with a satisfied and emotional tone.
"I have to say, your growth rate is much faster than I imagined. I really look forward to the day we meet again."
"When that time comes, I definitely won't lose again."
With that, he handed Cynthia a boxing glove-shaped badge and a disc.
"Take this—it's the Knuckle Badge. With this badge, your Pokémon's level cap will increase to 23."
"And this is the TM for [Bulk Up], which allows Pokémon that learn it to boost their Attack and Defense stats."
"Also, now your Pokémon can use [Flash] to explore dark places—like Granite Cave."
Hearing this, Cynthia was momentarily stunned.
Flash?
What kind of move was that? She'd never heard of it before.
She simply pressed the interaction button and told Brawly about her confusion.
What she got was his somewhat surprised response.
"Huh? You don't know about HMs? Didn't Roxanne tell you?"
"Well then, let me explain. Every time you complete a gym battle and earn a new badge, a new HM will be unlocked for you."
"For example, the Knuckle Badge allows your Pokémon to use Flash in the wild, lighting up dark caves and tunnels, or illuminating the surroundings during nighttime in the wilderness."
"HMs can generally be learned around gym areas. If you want to learn Flash, go to the entrance of Granite Cave and find an old man wearing a miner's hat. He should be happy to help you."
After finishing his explanation, Brawly clapped his hands and stood up.
"Alright, now I need to continue my training in Granite Cave."
"See you later, kid. I have faith in you."
With that, he turned and walked out of the gym.
Cynthia stood there, lost in thought.
HMs seemed to be a unique mechanic in this game.
This meant there should also be an HM available to obtain and use near Rustboro Gym.
If this HM would play a key role in pushing forward the game's content, she'd probably need to consider returning to Rustboro City.
It would also be a good opportunity to collect some items around Rustboro City.
With this thought, Cynthia glanced at the time in the bottom right corner and was slightly shocked!
It was already 12:30 AM!
She had started streaming at 8 PM and unknowingly had been playing the game continuously for four hours...
—When had time passed by so quickly?
After brief hesitation, Cynthia sighed softly, looking somewhat regretful.
Although she really wanted to continue playing, she probably needed to sleep now.
While she had no tasks tomorrow, she was used to sleeping and waking up early—it was a good habit she'd developed.
Moreover, if she received another sudden emergency mission tomorrow morning like last time, going in after pulling an all-nighter wouldn't work.
With this thought, Cynthia prepared to bid farewell to the livestream viewers and shut down the game to end the stream.
But her gaze fell upon the fishing rod in her bag.
Hmm...
While it was indeed time to sleep...
She'd gotten this fishing rod but hadn't used it even once yet.
Fishing for a bit before sleeping shouldn't be a problem, right?
Just catch one Pokémon and then sleep!
She silently made this decision and headed straight to the seaside.
The NPC who had given her the fishing rod had also given her two different types of bait.
One was "Old Rod Bait," with a full ten portions.
The other was "Special Bait," with only one portion.
The game's description for it was:
[Special bait that might hook an incredible Pokémon?!]
So just how "incredible" could this caught Pokémon be?
Would it be relatively rare?
Out of curiosity and with a "practice makes perfect" mindset, Cynthia directly attached a piece of "Special Bait" to the hook and cast it into the ocean.
Everything seemed to go smoothly. Within seconds, the fishing rod began shaking violently!
[A Pokémon is on the hook!]
So she followed the game's tutorial without hesitation and pressed "E" to reel in!
The next moment...
A massive figure was instantly pulled out of the sea by the fishing line!!!
This Pokémon had a deep blue, scale-covered body, angry, sharp eyes, and a gaping maw.
With its appearance, incredibly intense battle music suddenly began playing!
[A wild Gyarados (LV38) appeared!!!]
Seeing this notification, Cynthia immediately closed the game window without hesitation.
Well, it really was time to sleep now...
—She must be tired enough to start hallucinating.
