Lance didn't dare think any further—
His hand gripping the mouse had turned somewhat pale from excessive tension. He immediately grabbed his phone nearby, wanting to tell Cynthia everything he'd found here.
She was the first person he could think of in this moment.
However, just as he pulled up his contacts—
"Looks like a few restless little rats have scurried into places they shouldn't be."
A cold, authoritative voice suddenly rang out from the entrance they'd come through.
Lance looked in that direction and saw that the entrance had been completely blocked at some point.
Several Team Rocket executives in high-ranking uniforms stood there—the leader had distinctive long blue hair and razor-sharp eyes. It was one of Team Rocket's top executives, Petrel!
Lance had even fought this person once in the real world, so he naturally recognized him.
At this moment, Petrel was leading a large group of elite members, completely surrounding them and blocking all escape routes.
"Dragon-type Elite Four member Lance... and an unfamiliar youngster." Petrel's face bore a mocking, cold smile, as if looking at prey that had fallen into a trap.
"To make it this far is actually commendable. But unfortunately, your adventure ends here. The secrets of this place absolutely cannot be leaked."
Amid rousing music, battle broke out instantly!
Team Rocket members threw their Poké Balls one after another. In flashes of light, Golbat, Mightyena—Pokémon after Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
"Go! Now!" The in-game "Lance" didn't hesitate for a moment, forcefully pushing Lance's character toward an emergency exit at the other end of the hall that flickered with faint green light.
"You're the hope for the future—you absolutely cannot fall in a place like this! Take everything you've seen here, the truth, and tell the League!"
His voice was resolute and urgent, completely like a Champion fulfilling his duty and beliefs—protecting young people, safeguarding crucial intelligence, fighting against all evil.
"But you..." Lance instinctively wanted to control his character to stay and face Team Rocket together with him.
"Don't argue! This is my duty!"
Game Lance interrupted him without hesitation, already resolutely turning to face that large group of Team Rocket enemies ahead. His red cape billowed despite the still air, showing absolute determination.
"Don't forget, I'm the Dragon-type Elite Four member of the Kanto region! Go!"
He released all his remaining combat-capable Pokémon and resolutely charged toward Petrel and the powerful Team Rocket elites.
The next moment, dazzling move effects instantly illuminated the entire hall. Explosion sounds, commands, Pokémon roars filled the air endlessly.
Lance gritted his teeth, knowing this wasn't the time for stubbornness. With his current strength, staying here wouldn't help.
He immediately controlled his character and rushed toward that sole emergency exit without looking back. Just as his character was about to disappear into the dark tunnel entrance, he couldn't help but glance back one last time.
On screen, that familiar red figure had been completely surrounded by countless Team Rocket members and their Pokémon. Various powerful move effects interweaved and flashed, nearly swallowing his figure entirely.
Several minutes later.
After passing through the safety passage, he successfully escaped from a hidden hillside exit. A prompt appeared on the game screen showing the game had auto-saved.
In reality, he suddenly leaned back against his chair and let out a long breath, only then realizing he'd been holding his breath the whole time and could barely breathe.
On the computer screen, his character stood alone at the forest edge bathed in moonlight. Behind him was that now-hidden Team Rocket base entrance, as if nothing had happened.
But only he knew what was truly hidden beneath that peaceful forest.
Lance's fingers still unconsciously gripped the mouse tightly, his palms even covered with a layer of cold sweat.
His heart still pounded heavily and rapidly. That intense in-game battle, the mutated Eevee's final roar containing endless anguish, and the final scene of the in-game Lance being swallowed by Team Rocket's human wave still replayed repeatedly in his mind.
But heavier than these images was the suddenly increased responsibility on his shoulders—the intelligence that his in-game self had risked his life to obtain, he now had to immediately, without reservation, pass on.
But... the top priority wasn't in the game, but reality!
His gaze unconsciously swept to the friends list in the lower right corner of the screen. A familiar ID that now seemed incredibly reliable was lit up: [Strawberry Ice Cream].
Without hesitation, Lance immediately selected the voice invite button.
The call connected quickly.
"Cynthia! Can you hear me?"
His voice transmitted through the microphone, carrying a hint of urgency even he hadn't noticed.
"Very clearly." Cynthia's voice came almost immediately, her tone maintaining its customary calm.
"I was just looking for you earlier to share some intelligence, but couldn't reach you. Did something happen?"
Lance took a deep breath, trying to calm his roiling emotions, and as clearly and concisely as possible recounted that heart-stopping experience.
How he'd followed clues to find the Team Rocket base entrance, how he'd accidentally triggered a trap and encountered explosions, how he'd confronted that mad Researcher Jiggler, and that mutated Eevee with wildly switching types, immense power yet filled with extreme pain, as well as its final completely out-of-control energy backlash and escape.
Of course, he described in detail the shattered massive cultivation tank in the center and what it implied, along with the experimental content regarding the "Twilight" plan.
When Lance finished, everything instantly went quiet.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, with only Cynthia's extremely faint breathing audible. Clearly she was rapidly processing this massive amount of information.
"I understand." When she spoke again, Cynthia's voice held more coldness and seriousness, having entered serious mode.
"We've already confirmed that the information in the game is almost all real—there's no dispute about that. So the intelligence you've provided... sounds genuinely quite serious."
"By the way... I heard the International Police's recent classified briefings vaguely mentioned abnormal cases of high-potential Pokémon disappearances in the Johto and Kanto regions. Could this be related?"
She paused, continuing her calm analysis:
"I actually have some situations on my end too, regarding Team Magma and Team Aqua. It might also correspond to reality, but what we need now is more intelligence."
"For instance, what exactly is that 'creation' Team Rocket made and then escaped? What's the ultimate purpose of this plan? What's Team Rocket's next move? And Emerald Version—from what we can see now—is our only opportunity to delve deeply into that 'world' and obtain key information."
"I understand what you mean."
The real Lance's gaze refocused on the game screen, his tone firm.
"But I must first find my in-game self. He's not only a key character in the plot who might possess more inside information we don't know, but also... I can't just abandon him like this."
"Though rescuing myself sounds really weird, you should understand what I mean."
"I understand. So what are you going to do now? Your in-game self doesn't have Champion-level strength."
Cynthia spoke. She also seemed to be thinking, with faint keyboard tapping sounds coming from her end.
"You just said you escaped from an emergency exit. Do you remember its general external location and environmental features?"
"I remember the approximate direction. It's on one side of this forest, near a rock face. The entrance is covered by vines, not too far from Mauville City."
"Good. Next, first see if you can trigger a plot to report this to the League, then use that place as a starting point to go back. Meanwhile—"
Clearer keyboard sounds and game sound effects came from Cynthia's side.
"I'm using Fly to go to that forest outside Mauville City you mentioned. I haven't triggered those plot events you described, so perhaps the situation will be different. I might be able to help you."
"We'll maintain open communication and constantly sync information."
"Understood."
The plan set, the real Lance controlled his character to turn and run out of the forest, indeed triggering a special plot event.
An Officer Jenny approached, and Lance's character directly reported the intelligence to her.
After completing this, he restored his team's health at the Pokémon Center, then immediately stepped back into that forest's dense and dangerous shadows.
He carefully retraced the escape route from memory, carefully searching for the exact location of that exit.
The in-game time had now reached nighttime. Visibility in the forest at night was very low. He had to have his Pokémon use Flash to light the way. A soft glow appeared around his character, barely dispelling the darkness in a small area ahead.
Lance's sharp gaze swept the surroundings, searching for the base entrance, but his character's movements suddenly froze.
Because he'd remembered that extremely special Eevee that had escaped at the end.
"Cynthia."
He spoke into the microphone, his voice low.
"I think that mutated Eevee... might be a breakthrough. That last look it gave us... its emotions were complex, not entirely madness and hostility. It was so badly injured and its power so unstable—it definitely couldn't have gone far. It stayed in that base for so long, it might know about other hidden entrances, ventilation ducts, even the specific locations of containment areas."
"...At critical moments, your mind still works so fast, Lance."
Cynthia agreed.
Whooshing wind sounds and the sound effects of a character running in-game came from her end. She seemed to have just landed from using Fly and continued on foot.
"If Team Rocket kept it confined in the base for experiments... I believe its memory of the base structure should be very clear. Perhaps the game arranged this Pokémon specifically for players to obtain clues..."
"And besides, from your description, it does sound quite pitiful."
"Are you going to look for it? I'm almost at my destination outside Mauville City, approaching that forest area you mentioned."
Lance immediately made his decision, changing his search target and beginning to pay extra attention to any unnatural traces or unusual energy residue.
Sure enough, he soon discovered multi-colored light trails in the surrounding air. Though ethereal, they were visible upon close observation.
Obviously these were energy fluctuations remaining from when the mutated Eevee's power leaked.
But as Lance began searching, he quickly discovered this process wasn't easy—in fact, it was somewhat difficult.
Because those light trail traces were intermittent, appearing and disappearing, sometimes becoming very faint.
He could only carefully follow these weak clues, step by step going deeper into more remote areas of the forest.
Meanwhile, Cynthia's voice came through the headset, sharing her progress:
"I think I found the place you mentioned. The entrance here is almost completely covered by dense vegetation and fallen rocks, very well hidden... I had to use Rock Smash to open the entrance."
"I'm inside now. How should I put this—the damage here is even more severe than imagined. Most passages have collapsed... rocks and scrap metal blocking the way everywhere."
Her voice was accompanied by in-game sound effects of her character jumping and having Pokémon use Strength to push obstacles aside.
At the same time, Lance's patience and meticulousness finally paid off.
In the deepest part of a cliff crevice almost completely obscured by vines and grass, by the light of "Flash," he saw that huddled, dim gray-brown figure.
—It was that Eevee!
The Eevee was curled up in a cold rocky corner, its body trembling slightly from continuous weakness and internal pain.
Its fur was even more dull than when it was in the base. From time to time, a red, blue, or green glow flashed across its body, as if its life force was continuously draining away.
Those deep red eyes snapped open upon hearing approaching sounds, filled with fear, vigilance, and deep exhaustion.
Seeing Lance's character slowly approach, it instantly let out a threatening, hoarse growl from its throat.
At the same time, energy phantoms of various types—Water, Fire, Electric—began flickering uncontrollably across Eevee's body surface, extremely unstable, much worse than its previous condition.
Lance didn't send out any Pokémon, avoiding any actions that might be misunderstood. He knew this was the most critical moment.
He controlled his character to slowly crouch down, keeping a safe distance that wouldn't overly provoke it. From his game bag, he carefully selected "Fresh Water" and "Super Potion"—these were currently his most efficient items for restoring Pokémon health.
"It's okay," he spoke softly, making his voice as gentle as possible.
"I won't hurt you. Right now you need help. Can you give me a chance?"
As Lance's character reached out to offer the medicine after inputting the command, the Eevee suddenly shrank back, baring its teeth and showing strong resistance. The energy on its body flickered even more wildly, emitting crazy crackling sounds.
Intense light gathered on its body, ready to strike at any moment!
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones