A chatroom?
Chairman Damaranchi looked up at the light screen.
What appeared next was even more shocking.
A chat panel and an input field… an interface resembling a messaging app materialized right before his eyes.
Could this be some kind of conspiracy?
Remaining extremely cautious, Damaranchi chose not to send any messages.
Instead, he opened another panel.
When he saw the names appearing in the chatroom—some familiar, some unfamiliar, and some he had only ever heard in legends—he was left speechless.
What… was he looking at?
Lance, Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, Steven Stone, Wallace, Sidney, Phoebe, Caitlin… those names were still within reason.
After all, they were either members of the Elite Four or Gym Leaders.
It wasn't strange for them to appear here.
But then…
Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Mew, Rayquaza, Groudon, Kyogre…
The names of Legendary Pokémon—and even Mythical Pokémon—were also present in the chatroom.
Wasn't that a bit too absurd?!
Those were Legendary Pokémon!
Beings no one had laid eyes on for hundreds—if not thousands—of years!
Creatures that existed only in myths and legends!
And yet, they had appeared in this livestream!
Was this really something an evil organization could accomplish?
For the first time, Damaranchi began to doubt his earlier assumption.
If the Pokémon behind those names were truly real…
He sucked in a sharp breath, not daring to think further.
At the same time, the way he looked at the light screen grew even more serious.
After a moment of thought—
Damaranchi immediately contacted one of the leading Pokémon researchers: Professor Oak.
Professor Oak's figure appeared on the video call.
Both men wore equally serious and solemn expressions.
"You've seen it, haven't you?"
Professor Oak nodded. "I've already investigated. Everyone in Pallet Town can see this white screen."
Damaranchi wasn't surprised at all.
"I've also had people look into it. For now, we can confirm that identical screens have appeared in every region."
"This screen ensures that every single person can see it."
"However… it seems not everyone is in the chatroom."
Hearing this, Professor Oak frowned.
Why was there such a difference?
Or… was there something wrong with the chatroom itself?
Out of caution, no one had posted any messages yet.
Then, Damaranchi's tone shifted.
"To be honest, at first I suspected this might be the work of some evil organization."
Professor Oak paused.
Hmm?
That actually sounded plausible.
Damaranchi pointed at a few names.
"I can't be completely certain, but these individuals…"
"Maxie—suspected leader of Team Magma in the Hoenn region."
"Archie—suspected leader of Team Aqua in the Hoenn region."
His finger tapped lightly on those two names.
It was information Lance had reported back when he investigated incidents in Hoenn.
Hearing this, Professor Oak's frown deepened.
Good grief!
So not only were Elite Four members and Gym Leaders present in the chatroom—
Leaders and members of various evil organizations from different regions were also there?
Too bad there was no way to identify them precisely.
Otherwise, they could have been captured all at once!
Professor Oak couldn't determine what common trait allowed someone to enter the chatroom.
Then—
Damaranchi's finger slid toward the names that had already shocked him once before.
The Legendary Pokémon…
"What exactly is this screen trying to show us?"
Damaranchi muttered, his voice low.
His heart was filled with curiosity.
Professor Oak felt the same as he looked at the glowing screen before him.
What kind of scheme was behind all this?
Just then—
A message suddenly popped up in the chatroom.
[Ash Ketchum: Wow! Can everyone see my message? This thing is amazing!]
Professor Oak: "…"
Seeing that all-too-familiar name, Professor Oak froze.
That kid?
Why was Ash in this chatroom too?
Did he possess something special?
Professor Oak didn't know.
He couldn't figure it out.
But others had already started chatting with Ash.
[Lance: Hahaha! Yep, we can see it! So what exactly does this thing do?]
"Oh my—That's Lance!"
Misty's eyes widened in shock when she saw the reply.
Ash tilted his head in confusion.
"What about him? Is he famous or something?"
Brock was already used to Ash's ignorance and smoothly explained,
"Lance is the top member of the Kanto Elite Four. He's incredibly strong."
…
Because of Ash's message—
Those who had been hesitating and observing began to speak in the chatroom one after another.
Of course, some people still remained silent, watching.
At the Viridian City Gym—
Giovanni sat in his chair, eyes half-closed as he looked at the screen ahead, casually stroking the sleek fur of his Persian.
At the same time, his mind was racing.
After this screen appeared, what had he just heard?
The content shown in this livestream—
Could involve the past, the future, and even parallel worlds?
Was that… really possible?
After a moment of thought, Giovanni came to a conclusion.
Yes.
It was possible.
Because through Team Rocket's intelligence network, Giovanni had learned—
This screen had appeared in every region and city their network could reach.
This was not something human effort could achieve.
Nor was it something the Pokémon League was capable of.
So… could this really be some unimaginable form of advanced technology?
…
[Diantha: Hmm… interesting. So what are we supposed to do next?]
[Lance: Probably… just watch?]
[Bruno: …That sounds like pointless chatter. Can you say something useful?]
[Wallace: As expected of you, Bruno. One sentence and you've already roasted everyone.]
[Damaranchi: Observe and wait. Don't rush. We can't afford to reveal our hand first.]
Everyone exchanged casual remarks, testing the chatroom and the screen with caution and uncertainty.
At that moment—
The mechanical voice that had sounded before echoed once again from all directions.
The white screen lit up at the same time.
[Now broadcasting—]
[Pokémon Ranking: Ordinary Pokémon Powerful Enough to Rival and Defeat Legendary Pokémon!]