In the most inconspicuous corner of the interface, a module with no text description, no icon preview, and no price tag lay quietly waiting.
Kairos instinctively clicked on it with his mind.
A notification popped up.
[Notice: Unlocking this special module requires 1,000,000 Emotion Points.]
"What?"
Kairos sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes locked on that notification. He was completely stunned.
One million?! Emotion Points?!
His brain felt like it was short-circuiting. He'd just unlocked the entire Advanced Module section for fifty thousand points, which already felt like a fortune.
What kind of module could possibly justify a cost this astronomical?
Could it create Legendary Pokémon from scratch?
Or maybe digitize the entire world and load it into a game?
People can be contrary sometimes. If something's priced at fifty thousand, Kairos might complain it's too expensive.
But price something at a million? Now he absolutely had to know what justified such an outrageous cost.
He was genuinely curious, but still... that point requirement was terrifying.
Kairos glanced helplessly at his pitiful point balance. After unlocking the Advanced section, he had barely over ten thousand left. That wasn't even a fraction of what he'd need for that rainbow module, let alone the cheapest items in the Advanced section.
Forget it.
He shook his head, temporarily suppressing his intense curiosity about the rainbow module.
No point dwelling on it now.
Better to focus on completing missions, releasing new games, and earning more points.
At least his point accumulation rate was steadily increasing. At this pace, he'd eventually scrape together a million!
He redirected his attention to the special reward module the system had given him for unlocking the Advanced section. He'd gotten distracted by the rainbow module earlier and hadn't examined it properly.
[Special Advanced Module: "Regional Forms · Conceptual Expansion Pack"]
[Description as follows]
[Base Effect: After using this module, games you create will automatically generate vast amounts of random terrain and ecological environment zones. Additionally, the game's world-building and ecological environments will undergo unlimited expansion and automatic development, with a chance to introduce entirely new appearances and regional form Pokémon content.]
[Advanced Effects:]
[1. Terrain Blueprint Library: Input ecological environment keywords (such as "volcano/rainforest/magnetic levitation city") to automatically generate several differentiated 3D terrain proposals.]
[2. Ecosystem Calculator: If game design leans toward natural wilderness, after setting base Pokémon species, automatically generates the region's complete food chain (type advantage chains/habitat distribution/day-night behavior logic).]
[3. Terrain Scan & Copy: Use this module to scan all regions of your current world, understand all terrain and special zones belonging to that world, automatically generate game content to copy into games, or view as a map.]
[4. Emotion Points earned from games using content generated by this module are multiplied by 2. Additionally, after accumulating 100,000 Emotion Points through this bonus, you can unlock this module's next special effect.]
[Current Additional Emotion Points Earned: 0]
After reading through the module's description, Kairos's eyes couldn't help but light up.
This really was a special Advanced module. The effects were genuinely impressive.
The base effect alone was essentially a super map generator plus a Pokémon form expansion pack, saving massive amounts of manual work designing world backgrounds and ecosystems.
The Terrain Blueprint Library and Ecosystem Calculator simplified the fundamental logic of game design even further. It was practically a godsend for lazy... no, for efficient developers.
But what satisfied him most was actually the third effect: Terrain Scan & Copy!
Scan the current world's terrain and automatically generate game content or maps?
Didn't this mean that no matter which world he traveled to using the Story Transit Scroll, he could instantly obtain a perfect map of that world?
This function would be incredibly convenient whether he used it to create Pokémon games based on real worlds, or simply to view a world's layout, terrain, and locate special sites.
As for game applications... Kairos immediately thought of the upcoming Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time.
This type of game, with dungeon exploration and randomized terrain as core gameplay, desperately needed powerful map generation and ecological diversity, didn't it?
This module couldn't have come at a better time.
Now he just had to wait for the programmers and game developers at Dream Factory to send over their refined version.
When that happened, he could immediately integrate this module.
Just as Kairos was contemplating this, the system notification chimed again:
[Ding! Host has received a new special mission]
[S-Rank Mission: Traffic? Top-Tier Traffic!]
[Have one of your games attract 1,000,000 non-trainer players]
[Mission Reward: Emotion Points +20,000, SS-Rank Special Pokémon Item Blueprint x1, Special System Advanced Item Box x1]
Kairos glanced at the new mission requirements and paused.
One million non-trainer players?
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
For traditional games centered on becoming a trainer, challenging the League, and encountering various Pokémon, like Emerald and Dark Phantom, this would indeed be challenging.
Although the games themselves were groundbreaking, the core player base they attracted was undoubtedly people who already aspired to the trainer lifestyle or were already trainers.
Ordinary citizens, researchers, Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys might play too, but reaching the million-player threshold would be genuinely difficult.
But what about Pokémon Mystery Dungeon?
What was the core concept of this series? Players became Pokémon themselves! Pokémon forming rescue teams!
It had absolutely nothing to do with human trainers, capturing, or battling.
The game objectives were exploring dungeons, rescuing Pokémon in distress, solving various problems... making new friends.
This gameplay and theme naturally broke free from the "trainer" identity restriction.
An ordinary citizen might have little interest in commanding Pokémon battles, but wouldn't they enjoy playing as an adorable Pikachu or Bulbasaur, adventuring through dungeons and helping other Pokémon?
Wouldn't a researcher studying Pokémon ecology be interested in exploring unknown dungeon ecosystems?
So Explorers of Time absolutely had the potential to spread Pokémon's appeal beyond trainer circles!
With this realization, Kairos immediately grabbed his communicator and dialed the number of the person who'd handled Emerald's promotion.
Emerald was currently at peak popularity, and Dark Phantom was performing well too. This was the perfect time to promote a new release.
He needed to arrange Mystery Dungeon's marketing quickly and put down a deposit.
"Hello? Is this you? I remember you! I have this number saved!"
The phone was answered almost instantly. An excited voice, nearly cracking from enthusiasm, came through. Background noise suggested the person was somewhere busy.
"It's me. I'm calling about the deposit for promoting the new game, Explorers of Time..." Kairos had barely started when the other person cut him off.
"Promotion? No problem! Absolutely no problem! Sir, you can count on me! I'll handle this perfectly, even better than last time, trust me!"
The voice was filled with barely contained excitement, the words tumbling out rapidly.
"Deposit? No, no, no! Please don't mention money! Being able to promote your games again is an honor for our company! I'm begging you, please let me handle this! Don't call anyone else!"
His reaction was completely different from the professional, almost skeptical attitude he'd had when they first discussed Emerald's promotion.
It was like dealing with a totally different person.
Kairos paused, then understood.
When they'd promoted Emerald, the guy probably just thought Kairos was some ambitious client with interesting ideas, taking on the project with a "let's see what happens" attitude.
Now Emerald had exploded across the entire Pokémon world! As the earliest and largest promotional partner, this person and his team had undoubtedly made a name for themselves and earned a fortune.
Even the League officials had probably contacted them, asking about this mysterious game and its creator.
So when Kairos personally reached out to promote a new game, this wasn't just business anymore. It was a massive opportunity and an honor!
No wonder he didn't even want payment. He was terrified Kairos might go with someone else.
"Alright, I'll leave it in your hands," Kairos agreed readily without fuss.
"I'll send you the materials shortly. Remember, this time the target demographic needs to cover non-trainer groups as much as possible. I want as many people as possible to see this game."
"Understood! Mission accepted! Just wait and see!" The guy practically beat his chest in assurance, his enthusiasm nearly bursting through the phone.
After hanging up, Kairos felt satisfied. The promotional side was temporarily handled. Now he just had to wait for the finished Mystery Dungeon product, and... check on how Mewtwo was doing.
Thinking of Mewtwo, Kairos felt a stirring.
Since that intense mental clash at the Rock-type Gym, he hadn't successfully used the invitation card to check on Mewtwo's situation.
He wondered how Mewtwo was doing now.
With a trace of curiosity and subtle concern, Kairos activated the invitation card again.
He'd actually tried many times before, but every attempt had failed, so he'd given up.
But this time... the invitation card successfully activated!
That meant Mewtwo was playing the game!
His consciousness connected to the virtual screen once more. The image brightened. Mewtwo's game character stood in the dimly lit depths of a rocky cave.
His figure seemed to carry a barely perceptible weariness compared to before. Not physical, but more like a mental state.
The confusion that had seemingly eased after the Rock Gym battle now appeared to have returned, seemingly even deepened.
Clearly, Mewtwo had undergone some Team Rocket training during this time. Maybe special training, maybe research. Kairos wasn't clear what exactly, but it definitely wasn't anything good.
Seeing Mewtwo like this, he even wanted to ask about his condition, what he'd been through recently.
But he could only hold back. Right now, he was playing the role of system assistant, a cold guide, not a close friend.
Proactively asking about a player's emotional state... that definitely wasn't something a game system would do.
To maintain Mewtwo's trust, he could only continue observing silently.
At that moment, Mewtwo seemed to snap out of some deep thought. He operated his character, his gaze sweeping over the partners in his Poké Balls: Water-type Marshtomp, evolved from Mudkip, and Beedrill.
That look was complex, carrying scrutiny and a trace of confusion.
Finally, he did nothing, simply withdrawing his gaze and continuing to control his character deeper into the cavern.
What followed slightly surprised Kairos.
Mewtwo's command and judgment abilities had clearly jumped another level compared to the Rock Gym period.
His movement routes remained efficiently precise, but his battle choices were more flexible and varied. His use of type advantages and move effects grew increasingly sophisticated.
The trainers he encountered in the cavern, whether using Rock-types or other types, stood virtually no chance against Marshtomp's Water-type moves and Beedrill's Poison Sting and Fury Cutter attacks.
Battles ended quickly.
He swept through effortlessly, soon completing the entire Granite Cave storyline, defeating the final trainer and reaching the cavern's deepest level.
Like most other trainers, he was drawn by the faint, mysterious aura emanating from the cave's depths, controlling his character toward that open area.
Then he encountered it.
A cutscene began playing.
A massive, ancient body constructed of solid rock radiated an ageless, heavy pressure.
Through gaps in the stone, ruby-like light faintly glowed: the sleeping Rock Titan, Regirock!
Mewtwo's game character looked minuscule before it.
But Mewtwo himself, behind the screen, his purple eyes suddenly sharpened with intensity.
He didn't immediately choose to battle or flee.
Kairos could sense an invisible, powerful psychic force seemingly penetrating everything, assessing this legendary existence.
A moment later, Mewtwo's thought carried a certain confidence:
[Energy assessment... structural analysis... threat level determination...]
[Conclusion: Target possesses strength, but... weak.]
Weak?
Kairos watched this scene and couldn't help shrugging.
Well, that was fair.
Although Mewtwo had just been born and his power might not be fully awakened, as the pinnacle achievement of genetic engineering, a Legendary Pokémon with nearly infinite potential, a Titan like Regirock really couldn't compare.
That said, even through a game, Mewtwo could sense and judge Regirock's strength. His psychic power was truly formidable.
In the game, after finding that Regirock remained motionless, Mewtwo's character took one last look at the sleeping Titan before turning and leaving the cavern.
His objective was clear: proceed to the next Gym location, Dewford Town.
Dewford Gym, a Fighting-type Gym.
The Gym Leader was Brawly, a Fighting-type specialist.
The trainers inside the Gym used exclusively Fighting-type Pokémon: Machop, Makuhita, Meditite...
Beedrill's Bug/Poison typing gave it ¼× resistance to Fighting-type moves!
Those trainers' Fighting-type attacks barely scratched Beedrill.
Meanwhile, Beedrill's Poison Sting and wing attacks dealt massive damage.
Mewtwo cleared these NPCs even more easily than in Granite Cave. Beedrill practically steamrolled through all the Gym's preliminary challengers with overwhelming force.
Soon, Mewtwo stood before Gym Leader Brawly...