The chat room on the Psyduck Streaming Platform was in absolute meltdown mode.
The moment the price tag—$45.00—flashed on the screen, the scrolling text turned into a blur of outrage.
"FORTY-FIVE BUCKS?!" "For a pixel game? Is the dev high?" "I can buy a used copy of Battle Road for that!" "LMAO rip off. This file size is probably like 200MB. That's like a dollar per megabyte." "This is a classic rug pull, guys. He put up a fancy cover art, slapped a crazy price tag on it, and he's gonna bounce with the cash before anyone realizes the game is just a black screen."
The audience didn't know what Cynthia knew. They didn't see the perfect anatomical rendering of Rayquaza on the cover. They didn't know she was hunting for lost mythological history.
To them, this was highway robbery. A scam artist trying to milk the community with a "retro" aesthetic.
But then, Cynthia's mouse hovered over the [Purchase] button.
The chat froze for a split second.
Click.
[Payment Processing...][Payment Complete.]
The chat exploded again.
"SHE DID IT." "NOOOO CYNTHIA!" "Mommy, if you have too much money, just give it to me!" "Simps in the chat, take notes. This is how you burn cash." "Refund it! Refund it now!"
Cynthia laughed softly, the sound chiming through her microphone. She adjusted her headset, her expression calm.
"Relax, everyone," she said, her voice soothing the riot. "I know it looks steep. But look at it this way: I'm curious. Why would an unknown developer price a pixel game this high? It's bold. Maybe even arrogant."
She leaned into the camera, a mischievous glint in her gray eyes.
"And remember the description? There's a $15,000 bounty for the first clear. If this is a scam, I can just refund it through the Alliance store policy. But if it's real... well, I intend to win that money."
The chat paused. The logic checked out.
"True... Alliance refund policy is pretty strict. The dev would get banned if it's fake." "Wait, if Cynthia clears it, she gets the dev's phone number too, right?" "LOL, imagine scamming people and then the Sinnoh Champion shows up at your door to beat you up." "The dev is sweating right now." "It's actually $14,955 profit if she wins. Math, people."
As the chat calmed down, shifting from outrage to amusement, Cynthia breathed a mental sigh of relief.
She couldn't tell them the truth—that she suspected the developer had illegal or ancient knowledge about the Super Ancient Pokémon. That kind of information was classified League business. If she told 100,000 people that a random game dev might know where Rayquaza lives, it would cause mass panic.
Besides, she thought, watching the download bar fill up, is it possible the game is actually... good?
Someone who knew Rayquaza's markings that intimately... surely they wouldn't produce garbage?
[Download Complete.]
"It's done," Cynthia said. "Let's see what we bought."
She double-clicked the icon. The screen went black.
For a moment, there was silence. Then, a single, crystalline sound cut through the darkness.
Drip.
A single water drop fell from a pixelated, yet incredibly detailed leaf. It hit a pond, creating ripples that distorted the reflection of the sky.
Then, the music kicked in.
It wasn't the chiptune beeps and boops everyone expected. It was a high-energy, brass-heavy orchestral arrangement. Trumpets blared with a sense of adventure that made Cynthia's heart jump.
The camera panned up. A young boy in a green bandana was tearing across a vibrant green field on a bicycle. The wind whipped through his clothes.
And he wasn't alone.
A Manectric sprinted alongside him, sparks flying from its mane. A Flygon soared overhead, kicking up sand. A Volbeat buzzed around the handlebars.
And trailing behind, tripping over its own feet, was a tiny Torchic. It scrambled up, chirped, and ran faster to catch up.
The logo slammed onto the screen in bold, emerald letters.
POKÉMON: EMERALD
Cynthia stared.
She had played pixel games before. Usually, they were flat, static, and relied heavily on imagination. This was... different. It was alive. The "pixels" felt like an artistic choice rather than a limitation. The lighting was dynamic; the movement was fluid.
"Okay," Cynthia murmured, leaning forward. "That animation... that wasn't cheap."
The chat was having a similar realization.
"Wait, the graphics are actually fire?" "That Torchic was adorable." "The music slaps?? Hello??" "It's giving me 'HD-2D' vibes. This definitely isn't a 200MB asset flip." "Maybe it is worth forty-five bucks..."
Cynthia hit the [Start] key.
[Please enter your name.]
Cynthia didn't hesitate. She typed in her gamer tag, the one she used for everything when she wasn't being the Champion.
[Strawberry Ice Cream]
She loved ice cream. Specifically, the expensive strawberry gelato from Castelia City. It was a simple pleasure.
The game responded:
[Welcome to the world of Pokémon, Strawberry Ice Cream.][An adventure filled with courage and friendship awaits you!][Never forget your original intention. With bonds and passion, become the strongest Pokémon Trainer!]
Cynthia paused. Her finger hovered over the confirmation key.
Courage. Friendship. Bonds.
It was cheesy. It was cliché. But for some reason, reading it on the screen, accompanied by that swelling, hopeful music, struck a chord deep in her chest. It reminded her of when she was just a little girl with a Gible, terrified of the tall grass but eager to see what was beyond it.
"Aww, she's getting emotional," the chat teased. "Strawberry Ice Cream, the Destroyer of Worlds." "If the dev knew the Sinnoh Champion was playing as 'Strawberry Ice Cream', he'd pass out."
Cynthia shook off the nostalgia and smiled. "Let's go."
The screen faded in.
Her character—a pixelated girl with a green bandana—was sitting in the back of a moving truck. Boxes rattled around her.
The truck stopped. The doors opened. A woman—her in-game Mom—greeted her.
[Mom: We're here, honey! Welcome to Littleroot Town.]
Cynthia moved her character out of the truck and gasped softly.
The town was beautiful.
"Look at the details," she pointed out, moving her character through the grass. "The wind is actually affecting the trees. You can see the reflections in the windows."
It was Littleroot Town. She'd seen pictures of it in geography books, but this felt like she was actually there. The layout was perfect. The atmosphere was peaceful, rural, and idyllic.
This developer... they didn't just know about Rayquaza. They knew Hoenn. Intimately.
She went upstairs, set her clock, and then went next door to meet the neighbors.
She walked into the rival's room. A boy with white hair (or was it a hat?) was there.
[Boy: Hey! You must be the new neighbor. I'm Brendan.]
The game asked her to verify his name.
Cynthia, terrible at naming things under pressure, panicked.
[Input Name: Hat Boy]
The chat groaned.
"Hat Boy? Really, Cynthia?" "Her naming sense is truly legendary." "At least she didn't call him 'Chocolate Ice Cream'."
"He has a weird hat!" Cynthia defended herself, laughing. "Let's move on!"
She headed north, toward the edge of town. The music shifted from a peaceful town theme to something more urgent.
"Help! Someone help me!"
Cynthia ran toward the sound.
In a clearing, a man in a white lab coat was running in circles, screaming. Chasing him was a small, zigzag-striped raccoon dog. A Zigzagoon (or perhaps a Poochyena, depending on the version, but the text said Poochyena).
Wait.
Cynthia squinted at the screen. The pixel art was small, but the features were distinct. The beard. The slight belly. The sandals.
"Is that... Professor Birch?" Cynthia asked, stifling a giggle.
[Professor Birch: Hey! You! Over there! Help me! In my bag! There are Poké Balls!]
The chat lost it.
"OMG IT IS BIRCH." "The premier Pokémon Professor of the Hoenn region is getting bodied by a level 2 Poochyena." "This is accurate lore. Birch is useless in a fight." "Imagine asking the Sinnoh Champion to save you from a puppy." "HELP HIM STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM!"
A menu popped up. Three Poké Balls sat in a briefcase.
[Choose your partner!]
The screen displayed three distinct Pokémon.
Treecko: A green wood gecko. Cool, calm, with a twig in its mouth. Grass-type.
Torchic: An orange chick. fluffy and anxious looking. Fire-type.
Mudkip: A blue mud fish with a fin on its head. Derpy but lovable. Water-type.
"Okay, decision time," Cynthia said, rubbing her chin. "If this game is as hard as the developer claims... this choice matters."
The chat immediately started warring.
"MUDKIP! Pick the Mudkip!" "Swampert is a tank! Water/Ground typing has only one weakness!" "Pick Torchic! Blaziken is a sweeper!" "Don't pick Treecko, Grass is awful defensively."
Cynthia scanned the stats that appeared when she hovered over them.
"Grass types are tricky," she mused. "They have a lot of weaknesses. But... in the early game, sustainability is king."
She looked at Treecko.
"Treecko learns Absorb early. That means I can heal while attacking. If potions are expensive or scarce in this 'Hard Mode', self-sustain is going to be vital."
Plus, she just liked how cool the little gecko looked.
"I choose you, Treecko!"
[You obtained a Treecko!]
The screen shattered into a transition effect. Two dark bars slammed shut, and a white flash transitioned into a battle scene.
Dun-dun-dun-dun!
The battle music hit like a truck. It was fast, aggressive, and incredibly catchy.
On the left side: Her Treecko (Back view). On the right side: The wild Poochyena.
A menu appeared at the bottom.
[FIGHT] [BAG] [POKÉMON] [RUN]
"Turn-based," Cynthia noted. "Old school."
She clicked FIGHT, then POUND.
Her Treecko stepped forward and whacked the Poochyena. The HP bar drained slightly. The Poochyena retaliated with a Tackle.
"It's a pure turn-based system," Cynthia explained to the stream. "Speed stat determines who goes first. You pick a move, watch it happen, then the opponent moves."
The chat was divided.
"Turn-based? In 2025?" "That's so slow." "I don't know... it's kind of strategic? Like Chess." "Where are the real-time dodges? Can I command it to dodge?" "Graphics 10/10. Music 10/10. Gameplay... eh, looks boring."
Cynthia watched the battle play out. She saw the potential immediately.
"Don't dismiss it yet," she said, her eyes narrowing as she calculated the damage of the next hit. "In a real-time simulation like Battle Road, you can win by having faster reflexes or shouting louder. Here? It's pure math and strategy. You can't dodge. You have to tank the hit. That means team building and move selection are going to be everything."
She finished off the Poochyena with a critical hit.
[Wild Poochyena fainted!][Treecko gained 64 EXP Points!]
"And if the AI is actually smart..." Cynthia smiled, a competitive fire lighting up in her eyes. "This might be harder than any real-time battle I've ever fought."
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