After Magneton lost its ability to battle and collapsed, what happened next wasn't exactly surprising.
Although kilowattrel only had the tiniest sliver of HP left, Pikachu - the only Pokémon on her team that could use the priority move "Quick Attack" - had already been taken out by Arbok at the very start of the battle.
The remaining two Pokémon naturally couldn't stop kilowattrel, which had boosted its Special Attack by two stages, possessed terrifying speed and power, and had the "Volt Absorb" ability. They were undoubtedly "sent packing with pleasure."
Just like that, Iono once again earned Team Rocket's contempt.
"Hmph, little brat, we thought your Pokémon might actually be worth something, but now it looks like there's nothing worth stealing here."
Following Team Rocket's taunt, Iono's screen went black, and she was sent straight back to the Pokémon Center.
This time, the game didn't seem to trap her with Team Rocket like before, instead letting her off the hook directly.
But this outcome actually made Iono feel even worse than when she'd lost before - because she didn't even get a chance to win it back!
The expression on her face right now could only be described as incredibly complex.
She'd thought that after learning "Thunderbolt" and "Electric Terrain," she'd finally be able to make her big move. Instead, she'd barely stepped out of the gym before losing a battle, and losing it in such a frustrating way, too.
Anyone would be steaming mad, right?
The live chat was having an absolute field day at this moment.
"Who remembers what the streamer said when she walked out the door?"
"Something about not losing once and beating the whole game? I think that's what she said LOL"
"Hahaha, I still prefer how cocky the streamer looked just a minute ago."
Watching the barrage of comments flying across her screen, Iono couldn't help but purse her lips in defiance:
"Damn it, next time I run into those three jerks, I definitely won't lose again!"
After recovering her Pokémon's HP at the Pokémon Center, Iono controlled her character and walked back outside.
Just as she'd expected, those three Team Rocket members had vanished without a trace.
Obviously, this battle was different from the previous situations.
But in a way, this might actually be a good thing, since Iono hadn't really figured out how she was going to deal with Team Rocket's kilowattrel with its "Volt Absorb" ability anyway.
This battle had definitely served as a wake-up call for her.
Besides Ground-type Pokémon that are immune to Electric-type moves, she'd need to be extra careful of Pokémon with abilities like "Volt Absorb" going forward.
At the same time, what had just happened in the game got Iono thinking.
In the real world, Pokémon with the "Volt Absorb" ability convert Electric-type attacks into energy that heals their injuries and restores their HP when hit.
But in the battle just now, kilowattrel's Special Attack had increased when hit by Electric-type moves.
This seemed somewhat different from what happens in reality, but if you think about it carefully - if you're appropriating the opponent's electrical power for your own use, wouldn't it make sense that you could convert that energy into offensive power rather than just HP recovery?
The more Iono thought about it, the more likely this possibility seemed.
If it works in the game, why not in real life?
Plus, it's all just energy anyway - what's unreasonable about using it to boost your own attacks?
Not only that, but regarding this "Volt Absorb" ability, a bold idea was starting to form in Iono's mind.
Maybe after she finished streaming today, she could have her own kilowattrel give it a try?
After finishing her thoughts about the "Volt Absorb" ability, Iono had Pikachu learn "Rock Smash" and headed north from Mauville City.
She naturally encountered Team Magma next and made her way through Fiery Path.
Just as she emerged from the Fiery Path cave, a young man immediately approached her.
"Hello there, beautiful miss. Do you happen to know about Ultra Wormholes?"
Iono couldn't help but pause for a moment.
Ultra Wormholes? What the heck was that?
The young man across from her seemed to suddenly realize something and shook his head slightly, saying apologetically, "Sorry for being so abrupt. Looking at you, I guess you probably haven't heard of such things."
After giving her an explanation of the "Ultra Wormhole" concept, he extended a challenge invitation to Iono.
"Meeting like this must be fate. I can see you're a trainer too - how about we have a battle?"
Looking at the "Accept" and "Decline" options that appeared before her, Iono first paused, then immediately selected "Accept."
Team Rocket had just sent out a kilowattrel with "Volt Absorb" ability.
This guy couldn't possibly be so unlucky as to also have a Pokémon with "Volt Absorb," right?!
Finally, a chance to properly test her current team's strength!
The next moment, intense battle music started playing, countless Poké Balls flew across the screen, and the game entered battle mode once again.
Iono flashed a confident smile and sent out Pikachu first, looking full of fighting spirit.
"This time we definitely won't lose!!"
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu nodded in response as well.
But the next moment, the young man across from her also threw out his Poké Ball, and a bizarre-looking Pokémon suddenly appeared before them.
"Gladion sent out Silvally!"
What kind of Pokémon is this?
Iono couldn't help but freeze for a moment. She naturally had no idea what this Pokémon in front of her was.
Whatever, this thing clearly had nothing to do with electricity, so its ability definitely wasn't "Volt Absorb."
With its silver, metallic appearance, it probably wasn't a Ground-type Pokémon either.
In that case, she'd start with "Electric Terrain" first.
Iono quickly made her decision and directly ordered Pikachu to use "Electric Terrain."
But just then, a small brown disc suddenly appeared above that Pokémon's head.
The young man's voice followed immediately:
"Silvally, the opponent fears Ground-type - transform!"
The brown disc dissolved into light and disappeared, and that Pokémon's body suddenly turned brown.
An incredibly heavy aura emanated from its form, and a notification appeared as well.
[Silvally's type changed to Ground-type!]
Iono: ?
Pikachu: ??????
The battle with Gladion undoubtedly ended with Iono's defeat as well.
She didn't even get to see what Gladion's second Pokémon was by the time it was over.
In front of her computer screen, Iono suddenly shot up from her chair with a soul-piercing shriek!
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
She just wanted to use "Electric Terrain" and her newly learned moves to win big with her Pokémon...
The "Volt Absorb" ability that Team Rocket pulled out of nowhere was bad enough.
But what the hell was this instant type-changing to Ground-type mid-battle supposed to mean?!
Changing types on the spot?!
Meanwhile, viewers in the live chat were buzzing with discussion.
[I love that quote from the streamer: "As long as we don't run into Ground-types, we'll be fine."]
[The streamer used Attention! The streamer used Roar! It's super effective! The viewers fainted!]
[LOL the streamer's rage-quit is pretty cute too.]
Amid the laughter and chatter in the stream, Gladion used a Potion to heal all of Iono's Pokémon's injuries. After saying a few words about "Ultra Wormholes," he handed over an Ultra Crystal to Iono and took his leave.
Iono's character stood there holding that Ultra Crystal, seemingly still not quite recovered from the shock of what had just happened.
After a long while, she finally took a deep breath.
It seemed that just as she'd expected, trying to dominate this game with a pure Electric-type team was simply impossible.
No way around it - she absolutely had to find some way to help her Pokémon overcome their Ground-type weakness.
And at the same time, she needed to figure out how to deal with that "Volt Absorb" kilowattrel!
She had a feeling that both this Gladion guy and Team Rocket would show up again.
When that time came...
She'd definitely get her revenge!
With this thought, Iono pulled herself together and set off again with her character.
After walking left from where she'd encountered Gladion for just a short while, Iono arrived at the same volcanic ash collection area that Cynthia had visited before.
After defeating several NPCs blocking her path, Iono naturally found that little house and learned that collecting volcanic ash here could be exchanged for various rewards.
"Leftovers, huh... and there's even a Magnet that can boost Electric-type move power!"
Looking at the two held items available for exchange in the list, her eyes lit up.
Too bad this Magnet could only be exchanged for one; otherwise, she'd definitely want to get one for every Pokémon on her team.
But having even one... wasn't bad!
With this thought, Iono was about to follow the old man's instructions and head to the nearby grass to collect volcanic ash. However, when she glanced at the comments in her live chat, she noticed something was off.
[Why is the streamer's shop different from Cynthia's? Isn't there supposed to be a sword?]
[Yeah, I was waiting to see that CG again. Those two Pokémon were absolutely incredible, especially the blue one - it's literally my dream Pokémon.]
[Did the streamer miss some step, so it didn't trigger?]
[What are you guys talking about? What sword? What Pokémon? Can someone good-looking explain this?]
Seeing these comments, Iono naturally felt just as confused as that last one.
She really had no idea what her viewers were talking about.
But soon she understood the situation from the explanations in the chat.
So... the "Rusted Sword" special item hadn't appeared in her volcanic ash exchange list?
Then what about that CG and those Pokémon they mentioned?
Thinking of this, Iono suddenly had a bright idea - she could check out the recording of Cynthia's stream!
With this thought, she immediately switched out of the game and opened the video site.
Sure enough, she quickly found a corresponding video clip.
The video had a pretty long title, too.
[Emerald Clip: Cynthia encounters mysterious sword, spectacular CG of two suspected legendary Pokémon! You'll regret not watching!]
Legendary Pokémon?
Iono paused, looking curious.
The legendary Pokémon she'd encountered before in Granite Cave had definitely been pretty shocking.
But surely... that was already the technical limit for this game's CG, right?
In other words, this CG should have similar effects.
With this thought, she casually clicked on the video, wanting to see what the situation was.
The video didn't waste any time either - it immediately showed the scene from Cynthia's stream where the screen went black and entered the CG.
The next moment, under a deep purple sky, a bone dragon with an infinitely powerful and terrifying presence suddenly appeared before her!!
Five minutes later.
The CG had been over for quite a while now.
Yet Iono still sat dazedly in front of her computer, staring blankly with a rigid posture.
Like her, she naturally wasn't the only one affected by that CG - the live chat was completely silent at this moment, too.
That battle CG between the sword king "Zacian" and Eternatus had naturally succeeded in stunning everyone present, even those who had already seen the CG once before.
After several more seconds, Iono suddenly jolted back to life like she'd returned from the dead, her body shaking as she began breathing heavily.
Only then did she realize that sweat had completely soaked through her back, and her heart was still reeling from the shock of that battle scene between the two legendary Pokémon.
What kind of beings were those?!
They were... too powerful!
Iono's reaction was perfectly normal - even a top-tier Champion like Cynthia couldn't handle that pressure and shock. For someone at the Gym Leader level like her, it wasn't just a dimensional difference anymore.
Meanwhile, viewers in the chat were slowly recovering, too.
Those who hadn't seen this CG before were unanimously filling the screen with question marks.
Meanwhile, viewers who had already watched it once in Cynthia's stream began commenting.
[Even watching it for the second time, I still can barely breathe... It's really too intense.]
[Seriously, man, this technical prowess is just unbeatable. I feel like I'm actually witnessing those two Pokémon battle in person.]
[So streamer, why don't you have that sword?]
This last comment immediately caught Iono's attention, finally snapping her back to reality.
Right, Cynthia had that Rusted Sword in her exchange list - why didn't she have it?
Could it really be, like the comments said, that she'd missed some crucial step?
She fell into thought, carefully recalling her previous gameplay, but couldn't find anything unusual.
To maximize efficiency, she thoroughly searched every area whenever she passed through a route, so logically, she shouldn't have missed anything.
Then... what exactly went wrong that caused her to miss this sword?
The more Iono thought about it, the stranger it seemed. She controlled her character to walk out of the volcanic ash man's house, wanting to see if there was anything wrong with the surroundings.
But the moment she stepped outside, she suddenly froze.
Because - a deep purple vortex emanating black light had somehow suddenly appeared in the clearing among the volcanic ash grass!
Iono suddenly remembered something!
Black light, purple vortex, and that oppressive atmosphere...
Wasn't this exactly the "Ultra Wormhole" that Gladion had mentioned?!
How did she run into one so quickly?!