After the adrenaline of his encounter with Litwick faded, Cliff forced himself to calm down. Ambition was a powerful fuel, but he needed a steady hand to steer it. To set the world on fire, he had to take it one step at a time.
He surveyed his current position. Pokémon: Emerald was his beachhead. Its success would determine his reputation and his ability to farm the Emotional Points required for high-tier modules.
The game had been uploaded during the League's "New Indie Fest," a four-month competition where the winner received the "Golden Ball Award" and massive official promotion. Popular hits like Angry Stone had bypassed the fest, but their success was largely due to the League's backing. If Cliff wanted that same reach, he had to win.
But the odds were stacked against him. The festival only had one month left, and Emerald had just launched. Worse, the industry behemoth Dream Factory had announced a new title for the final two weeks.
In the public eye, Dream Factory's victory was a foregone conclusion. Their funding and manpower were insurmountable for any indie dev. But Cliff looked at his System panel, filled with "Black Tech" modules like [Mid-Tier: Brain-Computer Interface - Virtual Reality], and felt a surge of cold confidence. VR technology was merely a mid-tier module in his System. He couldn't even imagine what the High-Tier ones held.
One month is enough, Cliff thought.
Winning the Golden Ball required popularity, player ratings, and, crucially, completeness. He needed to push the main story forward. Overnight, he had coded the logic for the path to the first major hub: Petalburg City.
In the original game, the Petalburg Gym was run by the protagonist's father, Norman. It was a Normal-type gauntlet that players couldn't challenge until they were much stronger. The first real challenge lay further ahead in Rustboro City, where the Rock-type expert Roxanne waited.
In the Ultra Emerald version Cliff was adapting, Roxanne was a notorious "noob-killer." Her optimized team, featuring a terrifyingly defensive Lileep, had made countless players question their life choices.
Cliff intended to make her even more "educational."
He activated the newly purchased [Intelligence Module (Basic)] and began weaving it into the code.
The next morning. On the "Skitty" streaming platform, a rising titan that rivaled PsyduckTV, channels were flickering to life.
In a room titled [Bringing the Laughs with Ten Million Volts!], a girl with pastel-pink hair and sharp, cute fangs stretched lazily before the camera. She wore an oversized yellow-and-black jacket, her signature Magnemite-shaped hair clips bobbing.
"Ciao! Good morning, everyone! Did you miss me?!"
The chat exploded. "IONO! IONO!" "The goddess of Levincia is live!" [Iono's OnlyFan] gifted: 10 Supercars!
This was Iono, the Electric-type Gym Leader of Levincia in the Paldea region. Unlike Cynthia, she was a professional influencer. Her Gym's popularity was entirely built on her viral content and high-energy engagement. Within minutes, her viewership soared past 500,000.
"Heh-heh! Thank you for the support, everyone! Now, we were supposed to do an outdoor hike today, but..." She panned the camera to the window, revealing a depressing wall of grey clouds and rain. "Nature clearly has other plans."
Iono's face closed in on the lens, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Since we can't hike, let's do a special event! Bellibolt, bring it over!"
A stout, green Pokémon with a bulging brown stomach waddled toward the desk. "Bellibolt~" It set a cardboard box down with a dull thud.
"Thanks, buddy! Now, in this box are hundreds of viewer-recommended activities. I'll pull one out as today's 'Special Project'!"
This was a classic Iono segment. She'd pick a lucky viewer and do whatever they asked, singing, watching a movie, or trying a new game.
She reached in and pulled out a crumpled slip of paper. [FAN RECOMMENDED GAME!]
"Ooh! A game request!" Iono giggled, her fingers dancing across the interface. "Our lucky winner is user E5763. I'm starting the call."
A nervous, male voice stuttered through the speakers. "H-hello? Iono? I've been a fan for years... I never thought I'd actually talk to you! You're amazing!"
"Wow, thank you so much! Your support keeps me going!" Iono's sweet smile was blinding. "So, Starlight, what game are we playing today?"
The voice hesitated. "Well... yesterday, my friend told me about a game they saw on Cynthia's stream. Even the Champion seemed... obsessed with it. It's called Pokémon: Emerald? Could you try that one?"
Iono paused. Pokémon: Emerald?
She knew Cynthia occasionally streamed Battle Path, but the Champion wasn't exactly a hardcore gamer. Intrigued, Iono searched the New Indie Fest page.
[Price: $288][Style: Pixel Art][Status: Beta Test]
The chat immediately went hostile. "Whoa, dude. $288 for pixels? Are you trying to scam our girl?" "This looks super sketchy. Starlight, did your friend troll you?" "Iono-chan, let's play Angry Stone instead. This pixel garbage isn't worth it."
But a few "Cynthia stream survivors" fought back. "Don't talk trash if you didn't see the stream yesterday. It's better than anything Dream Factory has put out in years!" "It's worth every penny! Cynthia literally forgot to read her chat because she was so locked in!"
Seeing the tension rise, Iono took decisive action. She clicked 'Purchase' and paid the $288 without blinking.
"Everyone, calm down! I know you're worried about me getting scammed, but I love trying new things! Starlight's recommendation is valid, and I'm a professional content creator, let me be the 'poison tester' for you all! Let's see if this Cliff guy is a genius or just eyeing our wallets!"
She clicked 'Download.' To her surprise, a massive update was waiting.
[UPDATE LOG: v0.1]
Added 'Skip Intro' functionality.Implemented Full AI Integration. Players can now use voice or text to interact with NPCs and Pokémon. NPC tactical intelligence has been 'slightly' increased.Expanded map to Rustboro City. The first Gym Challenge is now live!
Iono's eyes widened at the second line. Full AI Integration? For a pixel game?
"Full AI?" she murmured. "Even Battle Path only has partial AI, and it's hundreds of gigabytes! How does a few hundred megs have 'Full AI'?"
She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Oh, no. My poor fan... he definitely got scammed, didn't he?