6:00 AM.
[Dewford Town: A small island floating on the blue sea.]
As Mega Houndoom fell, the Fisherman NPC, still shouting about the will of an angler, threw out Zygarde. The Mega Bracelet on his wrist flashed brilliantly, and the Speed Boost Zygarde, carrying its super heavy cannon, reappeared on the battlefield.
Seizing the brief moment before the opponent's Speed Boost took effect, Hakuya decisively recalled Alcremie and sent out the faster little jet plane.
"Use Draco Meteor."
A dragon's roar echoed in the air. Countless meteors trailing gorgeous tails of fire tore through the sky, crashing down on the opponent with the force of thunder.
Due to its obscenely high base HP, even taking a double-super-effective [Draco Meteor] head-on, this Mega Zygarde remained standing on the field like a god of war, with nearly a third of its health bar remaining.
It retaliated by locking onto Latias, who was still gliding in mid-air, and a [Dragon Pulse] blasted out from its heavy cannon.
As the massive purple dragon roared closer, bearing fangs and claws, the little jet plane, unable to dodge in time, saw her health bar instantly drop to zero. She turned into a streak of red light and was recalled into her Poké Ball.
Immediately after, a gentle breeze swirled around Mega Zygarde, and its Speed Boost ability activated. Its Speed increased by 50%; there were no longer any Pokémon on the field faster than it.
"You worked hard, Latias."
Having anticipated this, Hakuya took a deep breath, his expression serious.
"Alcremie, you should be fine for the rest of the battle, right?"
"Nai~"
Looking at the opponent's cannon barrel, which was large enough to fit dozens of herself inside, Alcremie nodded just as seriously.
Last time, it was this exact Mega Zygarde that had completely swept their team and sent them packing.
"Zygarde, use Sludge Wave."
"Don't be afraid, strike back with Dazzling Gleam!"
While Alcremie was still gathering energy to unleash [Dazzling Gleam], the noticeably faster Mega Zygarde hoisted its heavy cannon onto its shoulder. A dangerous, purple smog brewed at the muzzle.
Accompanied by a bubbling fluctuation, massive blobs of highly corrosive, acidic toxic sludge came flying over.
Her health bar plummeted rapidly. Alcremie's stamina was like a candle flickering in the wind!
But in the end, she held on with exactly 1 HP! Focus Sash!
In this critical moment, facing Mega Zygarde's [Sludge Wave], Alcremie chose to use their last Focus Sash! She tanked the hit to keep the match alive!
Subsequently, the long-brewing Fairy-type light bloomed. Even though it was a cloudy day, the sky over Dewford Town lit up for a brief moment.
"Nai—"
[Defeated the Roadside Fisherman! Gained 2000 League Dollars.]
"Finally elbowed my way past this damn fisherman." Hakuya wiped the sweat from his forehead, then accepted the pocket change offered by the NPC.
Even though it was just a simple turn-based exchange of commands, he felt a bit exhausted.
—That Speed Boost Mega Zygarde required too much tactical maneuvering to beat.
Even with Milcery evolving into Alcremie and gaining a massive boost in survivability, facing its absurd 216 base Special Attack, they almost wiped again to a [Sludge Wave] capable of corroding a massive chunk of land into nothingness.
After taking Latias and Alcremie back to the Pokémon Center to heal, Hakuya placed Floragato in the lead slot of his party.
Normally, following the standard progression, he should challenge the Dewford Gym first. But since he was still in the Hoenn region and hadn't obtained a Fighting-type Gym Badge from Maylene (Sinnoh), Korrina (Kalos), or Bea (Galar), Hakuya opted to complete the letter-delivery quest first. He headed toward the Granite Cave at the northernmost edge of Dewford Town, where the cyber-Steven awaited.
"Hey, it's terrifyingly dark ahead. It's dangerous to keep exploring." As soon as he stepped into the cave, an emaciated Hiker NPC waved and stopped Hakuya.
"A rich, silver-haired guy came through earlier, but he knows how to use Flash, so he should be fine... For us Hikers, our motto is to help others solve their problems. Here, take this."
After rambling on and confirming that cyber-Steven was indeed inside the cave, he pulled two items out of nowhere, holding them solemnly in both hands as he offered them to Hakuya.
[Obtained Rusted Sword * 1]
[Obtained Rusted Shield * 1]
"Wait a minute, where's my HM for Flash?"
Looking at the broken sword and shattered shield shoved into his hands, Hakuya's face was full of question marks.
Although he had anticipated that the original Flash HM would be randomized into something else, he didn't expect it to turn into two separate items this time.
—This Randomized Emerald is getting more and more incomprehensible. Previously, it at least randomized items within the HM/TM pool. Now, it's not even pretending anymore. It's just handing out Zacian and Zamazenta's signature items right out the gate.
That Devon Corp employee in Petalburg Woods got robbed of Arceus's plates, and now you're out here hoarding the signature gear of the legendary Sword and Shield duo?!
After silently roasting the game, Hakuya looked down, gently weighing the items in his hands. His eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"I didn't expect these two items to be this massive, and they're incredibly heavy too."
Unlike their depiction in the games of his previous life—where Zacian held the sword in its mouth and Zamazenta wore the shield on its chest—Hakuya was shocked to discover that if he stood this sword and shield upright on the ground, they would reach halfway up his body.
Besides their size, their weight also far exceeded Hakuya's initial expectations.
Even with his physique enhanced by the Rock-type Gym Badge, lifting them required considerable effort. He estimated each weighed nearly two hundred kilograms—even heavier than Tinkaton's massive steel hammer.
If a collector were present, they would absolutely suffer a heart attack upon seeing the items currently sitting in Hakuya's backpack.
A Legend Plate from Arceus.
A Rainbow Wing dropped by Ho-Oh.
And the Rusted Sword and Shield sets belonging to the Sword King Zacian and the Shield King Zamazenta.
Bringing out any single one of these would be a world-shaking event, inciting countless people to fight to the death over them. Yet here they were, completely stripped of their legendary majesty, tossed into his backpack to gather dust.
However, it couldn't be helped.
If he wanted to capture any of the Pokémon associated with these items, given his current catch rate, throwing tens of thousands of Great Balls probably wouldn't even cause a splash. He had to continue furiously clearing Gyms and collecting Badges first.
"Alright, let's head straight into the cave and deliver this letter!"
After storing the items, Hakuya didn't forget his mission to deliver the letter to cyber-Steven.
Although lacking the Flash HM would make descending into the lower levels of the cave annoying, it wasn't a major problem for him. Counting the original game and various bizarre ROM hacks, he had run through Granite Cave countless times. He was intimately familiar with the layout and routes here.
"Do any of you want this?"
Walking down the brightly lit rocky corridor, Hakuya quickly picked up an item in the corner near the stone wall.