Alright, team, gather 'round. So, I just finished showing that Canalave Gym Leader, Byron, what's what. My team was feeling pretty smug, let me tell you. But before I could even think about a celebratory Pokéblock, Professor Rowan sends a text that's basically the academic equivalent of "GET TO THE LIBRARY, NOW!" I mean, come on, I just battled for a badge, can't a trainer get a nap? But no, the plot waits for no one, not even a slightly sweaty Pokémon champion-in-training. So off I trot to the Canalave Library, which, plot twist, I'd literally just walked past after that whole dramatic bridge showdown with my rival. Talk about inefficient quest design!

Up on the top floor, it's a full party: Rowan, my perpetually grumpy rival, and the helpful assistant who isn't me. Rowan lays it out. The Lake Guardians of Sinnoh are acting up, and we're the unpaid interns sent to check it out. My rival, of course, snags the cool, snowy Lake Acuity. Rowan's taking the assistant to Verity. And me? I get assigned to Lake Valor. Great. Just as I'm mentally preparing for a scenic lakefront stroll, the whole building shakes like a Snorlax just sat on it! We rush downstairs to find out a BOMB went off at my assigned lake. My lake! So much for a peaceful investigation. Suddenly, my job description changed from "researcher" to "first responder."

Now, here's where a normal, sensible person would sprint to the nearest Fly point. But me? My brain goes, "Ooh, a distraction!" See, there's a rumor you can catch a Gible around now. You know, the little land-shark that evolves into the absolute beast Garchomp. The guide I'm loosely following even mentioned they're working on a Gible-catching guide. The temptation was real. But then I pictured a lake full of evaporated water and flopping Magikarp, and I figured, maybe the pseudo-legendary can wait. Priorities, people!

I Flew to Veilstone and booked it south to Route 214. The entrance to Lake Valor, usually guarded, was wide open. Not a good sign. Walking in was... bleak. The guide wasn't kidding. All the water? Gone. Poof. And the Magikarp? They were just lying there on the dry lakebed, gasping and flapping. It was the saddest thing I'd seen since a lost Shinx. A moment of silence for the fish, please. Okay, moment over. Sympathy shelved! There's a bad guy to beat up in that central cave, and my starter Pokémon is getting antsy.

The walk to the cave was like a Team Galactic grunt convention. They were everywhere! But let's be honest, their Pokémon are about as threatening as a startled Bidoof. It was free experience points, really. I made quick work of them, saving my best moves' Power Points (PP) for the main event inside the cavern.

And there he was: Saturn. Another one of Cyrus's fashion-challenged commanders. Now, Mars had her Purugly and Jupiter her Skuntank, which are objectively intimidating fluff-and-stink monsters. Saturn's Toxicroak? Cool, but not as immediately scary. But oh boy, did he make up for it with his other two. His Kadabra and Bronzor were on a whole other level compared to the grunts' Pokémon. This guy was, no joke, the toughest of the three commanders I'd faced so far. My strategy?

1. Kadabra First: This psychic-type is fast and hits hard. I sent out my speediest Pokémon and yelled "Hit it with everything you've got!" hoping for a one-hit knockout. Lucky crit? Don't mind if I do!

2. Bye-Bye, Toxicroak: Staraptor, my faithful bird, swooped in. Flying-type moves versus a Fighting/Poison type? It's like math, but with more feathers.

3. Melting Bronzor: This little floating gear is a Steel/Psychic type. Its weakness? Fire, baby! I had my Infernape ready to go, but thanks to the Grand Underground, trainers these days might have a Rapidash, a Houndoom, or any other fiery friend. The point is: cook that metal!

After a thoroughly satisfying battle, I took a moment to critique Saturn's haircut. I mean, someone had to. Defeated and presumably in need of a new barber, he let slip that my friends at Lake Verity were in deep trouble. Of course they are! Can't anything go smoothly?

So, my next destination? All the way back to my humble beginnings: Twinleaf Town. Sounds like a trek, right? Wrong! The miracle of Fly means I was back in my old bedroom in, like, two seconds. From there, it was a quick hop north to Lake Verity to meet up with Rowan and the crew. What fresh chaos awaits there? Well, that's a story for the next part of this wild ride. Snowpoint City is calling, but first, we've got another lake crisis to manage. The life of a trainer is never dull!