9:00 AM.
[Rustboro City: The first city where you can challenge a Gym.]
After spending the evening studying the basic procedures of Pokémon Contests, Hakuya logged into Randomized Emerald right on time at midnight.
—A true Pokémon Master does not need that much rest.
Not long after walking out of the Devon Corporation building, he ran into his rival, Sapphire.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, it was time for the classic sequence.
Sapphire: Battle?
Hakuya: BATTLE!!!
"Go, Ledyba!"
Without any unnecessary dialogue, Sapphire pulled a Poké Ball from her belt.
An [Iron Fist] Ledyba appeared with a serious face.jpg.
Watching this Bug-type Pokémon waving its tiny fists with an incredibly earnest expression, Hakuya nodded thoughtfully.
"As expected, according to the original game's logic, this is what the randomizer should have rolled."
Back on the beginner route, he had already harbored deep suspicions about Arceus showing up.
According to the game's underlying logic, since he chose Sprigatito (Grass) as his starter, his rival would only roll a Pokémon from the type-disadvantaged slot (Bug). The reason a [Prankster] Arceus appeared instead was clearly the Creator God interfering.
Whether it was his transmigration into the Pokémon world or the existence of this cheat-like Randomized Emerald, he blindly guessed it was highly likely the handiwork of Arceus, the God of Gods who possessed the power to create all things.
Yes, that's right.
It was all the doing of that mastermind Arceus. Arceus has done all the bad things.
Shaking his head helplessly at the mischievous alpaca's actions, Hakuya commanded his little jet plane to attack.
"Latias, use Draco Meteor."
"La-woo~"
Accompanied by a dragon's roar that pierced the clouds, countless meteors tore through the azure sky and plummeted down.
The deafening explosions, coupled with gale-force winds, completely obliterated the entire street.
Without the backing of a [Prankster] Arceus, this rival Sapphire wasn't particularly strong.
Ledyba, Machoke, Galarian Farfetch'd, and Articuno.
The only one worth paying attention to was the Articuno sent out last.
Its ability randomized into the pre-nerf version of [Gale Wings].
A priority [Hurricane] struck the little jet plane before she could dodge, instantly shaving off a quarter of her health bar.
Unfortunately, thanks to her previous "teammates" allowing Latias to stack her Special Attack to the max, before Articuno could struggle for even two turns, a world-ending [Draco Meteor] blanketed the sky, crashing down and knocking it unconscious on the spot.
"Ugh... You win."
Pale-faced from the [Draco Meteor] bombardment, Sapphire wiped away her tears, dropped a few lines, and fled the scene.
As for Hakuya, who was left behind.
Though he felt the urge to comfort her, after comparing his own running speed with his Running Shoes activated against Sapphire's escape speed, he ultimately chose to stand silently at the intersection of Rustboro City, watching his rival hurry away.
—My heart is just too kind. I can't bear to see a girl cry, so I'll just stand here and look away.
Once Sapphire's silhouette completely disappeared down the road, Hakuya headed toward Mr. Briney's cottage outside Petalburg Woods.
Based on the geography of the cities, at this stage in the game, whether he wanted to go to Dewford Town or Slateport City, he had to take this NPC's boat.
"So because you have the fat fish, you aren't using a boat and we're riding this instead?"
A few minutes later, Hakuya looked at the NPC sitting on Kyogre's back, waving frantically for him to hop on, and his mouth twitched slightly.
He never thought the day would come when he actually achieved the dream of riding the "fat fish."
"Meowha~"
After setting off, feeling the sea breeze blowing against her face, Floragato narrowed her eyes and let out a happy purr.
Meanwhile, Latias—who didn't have enough Gym Badges to legally carry a passenger but could fly independently—glided rapidly over the ocean surface.
Before long, as if she had discovered something incredible, she flew back and gently tugged at her Trainer's hair.
"An overworld random spawn... and it's a Groudon?"
Following the little jet plane's gaze, Hakuya gasped in surprise.
Overworld spawns were a unique encounter mechanic in Pokémon games. Unlike random encounters in tall grass or caves where you couldn't see what was coming, overworld spawns allowed the player to see the wild Pokémon directly on the map.
"Heh. What a pair of star-crossed lovers~"
At this moment, looking at the overworld Groudon—which had spawned over the ocean and was forced to literally walk on the sky because it couldn't land—and then looking down at the Kyogre paddling hard to carry them to Dewford Town, Hakuya couldn't help but sigh.
The howling sea breeze passed in the blink of an eye, and soon, a small island with several buildings came into view.
According to the normal plot, he had two choices now.
One was to stay in Dewford Town, complete the quest, and challenge the Gym. The second was to sail straight to Slateport City.
But remembering the level-scaling mechanics of Randomized Emerald, if he went to Slateport City now, he would likely face a horde of overpowered monsters that were 5 to 10 levels higher than Floragato and the others. Hakuya immediately scrapped that idea.
—The proper path is to dutifully deliver the letter to Steven in the cave first, then go elbow the Dewford Gym.
"Do you prefer fishing in a stream, or out in the vast ocean?"
On their way to the cave, Hakuya and Floragato were inevitably ambushed by a Fisherman NPC who hadn't caught anything.
"Houndoom, I choose you."
Facing the Fire/Dark-type Houndoom that popped out of the Poké Ball, Hakuya first commanded Floragato to use [U-turn] to activate [Omni-Transformation], then sent out Milcery to take the field.
"Houndoom, Mega Evolve! Then use Flamethrower!"
The Fisherman revealed his Mega Bracelet and shouted loudly.
Battles in Randomized Emerald were fast-paced like this. Often, without any probing or testing the waters, the NPC would immediately enter "battle-junkie" mode.
Gaining immense power, Mega Houndoom bared its fangs and unleashed a ferocious, surging torrent of fire from its mouth. Unfortunately, the [Wonder Guard] ability kicked in, completely nullifying the attack on the spot.
"Milcery, use Dazzling Gleam repeatedly."
Whenever he played with Wonder Guard, Hakuya's brain instinctively went on autopilot as he spammed the command.
After all, Fire-type moves weren't super effective against Fairy-types; they only resisted Fairy-type attacks. Therefore, even with a massive base Special Attack of 140, this Mega Houndoom couldn't put a scratch on Milcery.
"Next up is this! Zygarde!"
Recalling the unconscious Houndoom, the Fisherman immediately sent out his next Pokémon.
"The 100% Forme. I can't tell what its ability is yet. This is going to be a tough opponent."
Hakuya looked up at the giant, twenty-meter-tall mecha-like creature in front of him, his intelligence coming back online.
The box Legendary of the Kalos region. Dragon/Ground-type, with a staggering base stat total of 708. Its ability and movepool were currently unknown.
Fortunately, after the intense battle just now, Milcery's health bar was still full, and her condition was perfect.
However, just as Hakuya was preparing to have Milcery engage in a war of attrition, the opponent pulled off a move that made his pupils earthquake.
"I admit you are the strongest opponent I've met in these waters. But with my angler's will, I absolutely will not lose! Zygarde, show him the terrifying power of a fisherman! MEGA EVOLVE!"
The Fisherman revealed the Mega Bracelet on his right wrist, and the giant mecha in front of him was enveloped in blinding white light.
When the light faded, this mecha from the Kalos region hoisted an 80cm-caliber cannon onto its shoulder and aimed it directly at Hakuya.
[Mega Zygarde's Speed Boost raised its Speed! (+1)]
"???"
Hakuya couldn't help but summon a massive question mark.
Weren't you only allowed to Mega Evolve ONE Pokémon per battle?!
What, are you telling me you fished up TWO Mega Stones and just decided to Mega Evolve twice?!
This isn't how normal Pokémon battles work at all!!!
At this moment, Milcery was taken out by a targeted [Sludge Wave]. Latias and Floragato, who were sent in right after, were instantly out-sped and one-shot by this godforsaken Mega Zygarde.
Then, he blinked, and he found himself transported back to the familiar second floor of his wooden cabin.
"Professor Sycamore, are you falsifying academic data again?!"
Hakuya took a vicious bite out of an apple pie he snagged from the kitchen, feeling utterly scammed by a certain rookie professor from the Kalos region.