Caleb had never been to Mount Everest before. His entire impression of the world's highest peak came solely from textbook descriptions:
Mount Everest is shaped like a massive pyramid, majestic and towering into the sky. Its terrain is extremely treacherous, its environment incredibly complex, with a summit elevation of 8848.86 meters.
Now, standing at its base and facing the mountain directly, Caleb realized how inadequate words were to capture its grandeur.
It was majestic and vast, imposing and magnificent, surrounded by towering peaks and layered ridges…
It was impossible not to feel a deep primal sense of awe at the sight.
Terrence marveled beside him, "So spectacular! Hey, do you think we'll see a Tibetan fox here?"
Hatsumi checked her phone and replied, "Probably. We're on the north slope right now. Below 4100 meters, you can spot peacocks, gibbons, snow leopards, and Tibetan antelopes in the forests and shrubs."
"You still have internet? What brand is your phone? Mine lost signal the moment we got here," Terrence asked.
Hatsumi gave him a deadpan look, "Is now really the time for that? If you like it, I'll buy you a dozen and ship them to your dorm."
"Nah, I'm good." Terrence shifted to the real issue, "Anyway, how do we get up there? Do we ride our Pokémon?"
Hatsumi shook her head, "No. If your body ascends too quickly from low altitude to high, it won't handle the pressure."
"Then we hike slowly? Shouldn't we get a local guide or something? I feel like the three of us would get lost in there," Terrence said.
"I already arranged one. He should be here shortly," Hatsumi said, checking her watch.
Just then, a middle-aged man in traditional herdsman's clothing jogged over from a parked vehicle.
"Here he is," Hatsumi greeted him, "You must be Uncle Tsering?"
The rugged man nodded, his eyes filled with confusion, "It's just the three of you?"
"That's right," Hatsumi confirmed.
"Then let's go. We need to find a campsite before dark. There will be a blizzard tonight." Tsering said, strapping on his gear. In accented Mandarin, he muttered, "So strange… why are so many young people climbing the mountain today…"
Caleb heard this. He turned to Terrence and Hatsumi and mouthed silently, "Other players?"
Hatsumi nodded without showing any concern, "Probably. Don't worry about them."
Her dismissive attitude only made Caleb more curious. But she showed no intention of explaining.
With no other choice, Caleb followed them up the trail...
...
Soon, night fell, and the mountain's weather proved Uncle Tsering right.
It started snowing.
Tsering found a suitable campsite, and the group set up camp.
Coincidentally, not long after they arrived, another group came up from below.
Caleb checked the countdown on his panel, worry creeping in: 'If we don't use Pokémon… at this pace, we won't reach the summit in time.'
Outside, a blizzard raged. Inside the tent, Tsering smoked quietly.
Caleb decided to ask Hatsumi if their quest had a time limit. When he reached the tent flap, he ran into a group from the neighboring campsite.
One man held a Flareon like a living hand warmer. Seeing Caleb, he smiled, "You're a player too, right?"
Sensing no malice from the man, Caleb nodded and curiously probed for information, "Did you get the quest too?"
"Of course! Who'd come to this freezing hell otherwise?" the man joked.
"Mind telling me what your quest is?" Caleb asked.
He expected the man to decline, but instead he smiled, "You look familiar. Oh right, the guy who appeared at the subway station online a few days ago was you, right?"
Caleb: "…"
What could he even say to that?
The man leaned in, intrigued, "Did you just come back from Infinite World?"
Caleb nodded, "More or less."
Just then, Hatsumi lifted the tent flap and ushered them inside.
They seemed to know each other and spoke openly in front of Caleb, "We're only two kilometers from the first mission point."
The man chuckled, "Don't worry. With so many of us, we won't fail."
Hatsumi exhaled, "Let's hope so."
Caleb had no idea what they were talking about...
...
The next day, as they came across a familiar figure in a barren thicket, Caleb finally understood the meaning behind their words.
Maxie, the leader of Team Magma, stood there disheveled and furious as he spotted Caleb, "It's you!"
From his tone and attire, Caleb instantly recognized him as the Team Rainbow Rocket version.
In the games, after Team Rainbow Rocket is defeated, they aren't killed. They manage to escape to another world with Colress's help.
'So is it the same scenario with this Team Rainbow Rocket? They also managed escaped after being defeated by Red and Green? But how did they end up on Earth?'
"Leave this to us! You guys keep moving forward!" said the players Caleb met at the campsite.
"That doesn't feel right," Caleb was taken aback.
The man just grinned, "Do you have time to waste here?"
Caleb got the hint, "Then, I'm counting on you!"
"Don't worry!" The man nodded, then pulled out a Poké Ball and launched a coordinated assault on Maxie.
The hired guides watched in utter confusion as the young people fought empty air.
"Aha! Uncle, we're just taking photos!" a female player explained, waving a camera.
'Kids these days sure know how to have fun. But it doesn't change the fact that they're nuts!' the guides thought.
...
The second mission point was on a peak about 2000 meters above sea level.
Caleb's group met more players on the way. Together, they reached the site and encountered Archie, who had appeared here for some unknown reason.
"This boss is ours! Go find another one!" a tall man stepped in front of Caleb, blocking his path with commanding authority.
Caleb wasn't upset. He simply said, "Thank you."
The man didn't look back as the others continued onward.
Suddenly, he called out to stop Caleb, "Hey, this is for you!"
Caleb instinctively caught the object tossed his way.
It was an ordinary-looking flashlight. But its function was anything but ordinary.
- Adaptation Light (A-grade): An item from Doraemon's 4D Pocket. Anyone illuminated by this flashlight can adapt to extreme environments like deep sea, snowy mountains, or in the outer space...
...
At the third point, Caleb encountered Cyrus.
Like the previous times, it was handled by the players they met on the way.
Caleb's group moved on...
...
At the fourth point, they met Lysandre.
On the fifth was Ghetsis, who was paralyzed from the neck down by Mew2, with only his head able to move.
By now, only three hours remained on the countdown.
One final point remained.
Barring any surprises, the boss there should be the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket, Giovanni...