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As Iono started her stream and logged into the game, opening her team inventory and clicking on Entei, more and more viewers flooded into her chat, sending the comments flying.
[Whoa! The streamer actually caught Entei!]
[Totally rigged, Iono!]
[Breathing in that luck!]
[So jealous I could cry!]
[I already screen-recorded the streamer screaming yesterday hahaha...]
Seeing the comments, Iono became even more smug. She deliberately cleared her throat and set Entei as her team's lead Pokémon.
"Heh heh, you guys are always blocking my path and challenging me. Now watch how I beat every single one of you down with Entei!"
She controlled her character and excitedly ran toward the nearby desert area, where several fixed NPC trainers awaited.
Soon, she targeted an NPC trainer who rubbed her the wrong way and immediately initiated a battle.
The battle began! Iono pointed dramatically at the screen, full of fighting spirit, pressed the interaction button, and declared:
"Entei! Use Flamethrower!"
However, the majestic Entei just stood on the field, lazily yawned, and then... slowly lay down, resting its head on its front paws. ZZZ symbols representing "Sleep" status appeared above its head.
It had fallen asleep, completely ignoring Iono's command.
The smile on Iono's face instantly froze. The chat paused for a moment, then erupted into tsunami-like laughter.
[BWAHAHAHA!!!]
[Entei: Who are you? Don't bug me!]
[Dying laughing, you caught it, but it won't listen!]
[Even digital pets have attitude now!]
[Programmer: Did they code it wrong? Is sleep status the highest priority?]
[Iono.exe has stopped working]
Iono stared at the snoring Entei on screen, then at the endless stream of merciless "hahahas," feeling utterly defeated.
Only now did she belatedly remember that she had ganged up on Entei and beaten it down by force to catch it... For a legendary Pokémon of that caliber to refuse her orders actually made sense.
She scratched her head in frustration.
What was she supposed to do now?
What's the point of catching it if she couldn't use it?
Did she actually have to earn its approval somehow?
After exiting the battle, Iono thought for a moment, then opened her bag and selected "Send out Entei."
The towering Entei appeared beside her character, its golden mane gleaming under the virtual sunlight. But its eyes still carried a distant look. It glanced at Iono's character once, then turned its head away, clearly unwilling to acknowledge her.
Iono took a deep breath. Speaking into her microphone, her voice unusually serious, as if talking directly to the Entei on screen:
"Entei, listen up. I know you're not satisfied. But that's fine!"
She paused, her tone becoming more determined:
"I'll prove my strength to you! One day, I'll face you head-on with just my strongest partner and defeat you fair and square! When that time comes, we'll become true partners. How about it?"
The Entei on screen seemed to hear her words.
It turned its head again, those flame-like golden eyes gazing in the direction of the camera, pausing for a moment, then... it nodded ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly.
Then it went back to ignoring Iono.
This scene instantly changed the direction of the chat.
[Whoa! It nodded!]
[Entei's totally a tsundere, confirmed...]
[You got this, streamer!]
[Looking forward to the 1v1 showdown, streamer vs legendary beast!]
[The contract is sealed!]
Seeing Entei nod, Iono's eyes lit up immediately, her earlier dejection completely swept away.
"Alright! It's a promise!"
She felt filled with motivation.
From now on, she wouldn't just complete the game, she'd work hard to strengthen her main Pokémon to fulfill this promise to Entei! Taking a deep breath, she set off on her gaming journey once more.
---
In Cerulean City, Kairos sat at his desk, slightly frowning as he looked at the sales data for Emerald on the system panel: 9.28 million copies.
It was getting closer and closer to the 10 million goal, but Adam's team hadn't reported back yet on the production progress for Mystery Dungeon.
With the Genesis Engine's countdown ticking away, time was incredibly precious.
Just then, the encrypted communication icon on his computer screen began flashing, indicating an email from his "collaborative partners." Kairos perked up and immediately clicked it open.
The email was concise, expressing the team's awe upon receiving the test project and their determination to give it their all.
It included a detailed preliminary planning document for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team of Time, and... a compressed file attachment containing a game test version.
This efficient? They already had a test build?
Kairos was somewhat surprised. He downloaded the compressed file, extracted it, and ran the test version program.
On the screen, the game's icon lit up, prompting him to access the internal test experience program.
After launching the game, Kairos's vision went dark, and then he was pulled into a pixelated world.
No trainers, no gyms.
The perspective was completely locked onto a small Pokémon: he was playing as a Torchic.
Around him was a randomly generated forest dungeon made of blocks. The walls, grass, and rivers all carried a distinct pixel-art style, yet were reasonably well-crafted.
He controlled the Torchic as it moved through the dungeon, encountering other Pokémon-form NPCs and receiving his first rescue mission: find a lost Oran Berry.
The dungeon changed every time you entered, with complex terrain full of unknown traps and wild Pokémon enemies.
Combat was straightforward, turn-based.
Torchic could only use its innate moves, "Scratch" and "Growl." While exploring the dungeon, he'd occasionally pick up various berries to restore health and sometimes discover valuable items.
After successfully completing the rescue mission, he returned to base camp, where Torchic received a grateful reward from the client: an Oran Berry.
With that sequence complete, the test content ended.
Kairos exited the test experience, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He'd only given Dream Factory this group of people a concept, yet the level of completion far exceeded his expectations.
Though it was just an initial presentation of core gameplay, and the pixel art style was relatively simple, the random dungeon generation algorithm was stable and smooth.
The Pokémon's movement and combat controls felt surprisingly solid, and the core loop of rescue missions was clear.
Most remarkable was that the unique sense of immersion from playing as a Pokémon and exploring unknown dungeons while helping others had been well captured.
Adam and his crew really knew their stuff. Not only did they understand the concept he'd given them, but they'd created something genuinely impressive in such a short time.
He'd originally planned just to use this project to test their abilities. He hadn't expected to directly obtain such a promising prototype.
But truthfully, as it stood now, it was still far from meeting his expectations for the Rescue Team of Time. After all, unlike him, they hadn't experienced the original game and didn't know what made it truly special.
Kairos leaned back in his chair, fingers lightly tapping the desk as he looked at the crude yet vibrant test version icon on his computer screen, then glanced at the constantly ticking Genesis Engine countdown on the system panel.
Once this game was completed, he could use that advanced module to break through the League's blockade and release it directly in the second world.
It should quickly complete the sales mission, since that world's population didn't seem small either.
Once the first requirement of the mission was complete, he'd let Rescue Team of Time stir up a new storm in the main world... everything should work out fine.
He took a deep breath and began editing a text document, writing down his understanding of Mystery Dungeon and areas that needed improvement, preparing to send it to them.
Five minutes later.
Adam's team responded quickly.
Their reply came fast, with words brimming with joy at Kairos's approval and enthusiasm, stating they'd start optimizing immediately, even overnight.
Kairos could practically picture a group of programmers crowded around computers, rolling up their sleeves.
He smiled and closed his email.
Now came the hard part: waiting.
He glanced at the system interface. Emerald's sales numbers were still climbing visibly and rapidly, already breaking 9.3 million, getting closer to the goal.
But on the system panel, the Genesis Engine activation countdown hung like a sword overhead, constantly reminding him that time waits for no one. Three weeks... might not be as generous as it seemed.
---
Meanwhile, deep in Victory Road, the sound of flowing water echoed constantly.
Cynthia had her Swampert use Rock Slide to clear out the last Graveler.
The Pokémon in her team all glowed with the white light of leveling up. She exhaled softly. After several hours of intense grinding, even she felt mentally fatigued.
She opened her team interface, carefully adjusting skills and held items, ensuring Pelipper's Rain Dance was foolproof, Ludicolo's coverage was comprehensive, and the recently evolved Swampert was equipped with Earthquake and Rock Slide, filling the team's previous lack of powerful Ground and Rock-type attacks.
She scrutinized every detail, a habit from her time as Champion.
Three minutes later, when she stood before Sidney again—
As Sidney made his declaration, the battle began. But his tactics were ruthlessly cunning.
Reflect, Leech Seed, Sucker Punch: various disruption and priority moves came one after another. The difficulty was exponentially greater than Cynthia had imagined!
Most critically, Sidney's Pokémon all exceeded her current level cap, all sitting at level 80!
Combined with Victini being banned, Cynthia's challenge hit wall after wall.
Worst of all, Mega Evolution stones were also banned items!
Soon, on her first attempt, she fell to the attrition warfare of Cacturne.
Second attempt: Honchkrow's Sucker Punch disrupted her crucial rotation.
Third time... Fourth time...
Facing repeated defeats, Cynthia didn't grow impatient.
After each failure, she quickly reviewed the battle mentally. Shiftry typically used Reflect on turn two.
When Cacturne's HP dropped below half, it prioritized Destiny Bond. Manectric always used Thunderbolt on its first turn unless she had Swampert out, and it had a Choice item, so she could swap Swampert out to bait Manectric's locked move...
She was solving a complex puzzle, slowly figuring out Sidney's every intention through repeated battles.
Finally, after countless attempts, she predicted all of Sidney's commands.
Ludicolo, with incredible speed in the rain, carried the team as the main attacker. Swampert stood firm as a rock, tanking critical damage. A critical-hit Earthquake directly one-shot the Shiftry in back.
Even Wobbuffet, previously unremarkable, used a precisely timed Shadow Tag to trap Cacturne, who was trying to rotate out and recover.
When Sidney's last Pokémon fell, Cynthia realized her palms were slightly sweaty.
This victory hadn't come easily. It took nearly an hour, during which she'd maintained intense focus the entire time.
The system notified her that she'd successfully earned a special reward that would be calculated after challenging the Champion, and she'd unlocked the right to challenge the next Elite Four member. But what mattered more to her was that sense of satisfaction from thinking through adjustments and ultimately overcoming a powerful enemy.
After exiting the game, real-world fatigue washed over her.
Cynthia rubbed her temples and walked to the window, gazing at the deep night outside.
As the mental high from intense battling gradually subsided, the image of that mysterious cave and silver-white Pokémon resurfaced in her mind.
What exactly was that thing?
---
In Kanto, at Viridian Gym.
Giovanni had already returned from the island to his gym. He now sat in the shadows, his knuckles rhythmically tapping against the desk.
The brief ripple caused by Cynthia's name had already settled. What occupied his mind now were other matters, concerning risk.
An executive, Matori, entered silently.
"Target: eastern Rustboro City. Make low-key contact. Identity disguised as a charity foundation investigator. Avoid any contact with the Sinnoh League or drawing their attention. Personnel: three."
Giovanni's orders were concise and cold. He didn't need to explain, and Matori would never ask questions.
"Second, activate intelligence networks level three and below. Monitor the Sinnoh League's public activities, especially Cynthia's schedule and official statements. All information reports to me daily."
"Third, establish a special task force in-game. One objective only: collect everything related to Mega Evolution, Key Stones, and Mega Stones, including text and relevant map locations."
Matori repeated the orders once, confirmed everything was correct, then silently left.
Giovanni stood and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the sleeping Viridian City below.
Lights dotted the landscape like pieces on a game board.
Giovanni found it difficult to determine whether everything in the game was real or not. He disliked this uncertainty.
But he also understood that enormous risks often meant enormous rewards.
He needed more information to verify all this.
He didn't have to wait long. Half an hour later.
The encrypted communicator on Giovanni's desk glowed softly.
His subordinate's preliminary report showed: [Target individual keeps a low profile with minimal outside contact. Directly verifying intelligence authenticity is highly difficult. Avoiding League attention requires a gradual approach.]
Giovanni thought for a moment, then sent back his directive.
[Take your time.]
After sending the message, he turned back to his desk and opened his computer.
On the screen, the "Emerald" icon sat quietly.
He moved his mouse and clicked once again.
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones