Chapter 5: Stuck and Reverberating Echoes (4K) (Humbly Seeking Recommendations and Continued Readership~)
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Under the overwhelming level disadvantage once again, the outcome of this battle was, unsurprisingly, inevitable.
—Grookey was defeated outright by two Ember attacks from Scorbunny.
In fact, due to both Pokémon having leveled up, one Ember from Scorbunny now took away two-thirds of Grookey’s health—an even more exaggerated result than before.
Watching the screen go black once more, the character reappeared at the Pokémon Center, and in the upper right corner, the money indicator flashed a negative one thousand.
In Cynthia's livestream chat, the viewers erupted into a frenzy again.
“I get it now! That guy earlier meant it—he’s always one level higher than the player!”
“The game developers are ruthless! How can NPCs level up alongside players?!”
“Hahaha, the money just went negative a thousand! The streamer’s bankrupt now...”
As the barrage of comments refreshed, Cynthia paid no attention at all.
At this moment, she was deep in thought.
Clearly, the game developers had anticipated the player’s possible strategies and had blocked the straightforward path of leveling up to clear the game.
In that case, she had to find another way to overcome this opponent!
The biggest problem with Grookey facing Scorbunny was its type disadvantage.
The massive damage from a double weakness was something Grookey simply could not withstand.
To overcome the disadvantage of type weakness...
Suddenly, Cynthia’s eyes lit up.
Wait a minute—didn’t Professor Otaki give her five Poké Balls when she left?
If she used those Poké Balls to catch a Pokémon nearby that counters Scorbunny, wouldn’t that solve the problem?
But Pokémon aren’t that easy to catch, of course.
During her recent gameplay, she had already checked the bag interface and learned some rules.
Players’ levels have limits in each region, and the number of Pokémon they can carry simultaneously is also capped.
For instance, her current Pokémon limit was “2.”
The maximum number of Pokémon one can have throughout the game is “15.”
Moreover, once a Pokémon is caught, there is no releasing it; the player must carry it all the way through to game completion.
For a game, these are quite hardcore requirements.
Yet, such rules sparked a certain sense of respect in Cynthia’s heart.
Even in a game, these Pokémon are partners fighting alongside them, not data to be discarded once used!
That said, under these conditions, she needed to carefully plan each Pokémon’s place on her team.
She had to ensure that the newly caught Pokémon would play an important role in her upcoming journey and help her overcome the formidable challenge ahead.
Cynthia began quickly recalling all the Pokémon she had encountered along the way...
But just then, a sudden ringing interrupted her thoughts.
—It was her phone ringing next to the computer.
She glanced at the caller ID and immediately answered the call.
Only she could hear the voice on the other end:
“Miss Cynthia, sorry to disturb your break, but for some unknown reason, the Pokémon in the Distortion World have started acting up again. We suspect a new Spirit Surge is imminent. The entrance to the Distortion World in Eterna City needs your support!”
Her expression shifted slightly as she nodded.
“Understood. I’m on my way right now.”
Then she turned to the livestream audience with an apologetic tone:
“Sorry everyone, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so today’s stream will have to end here.”
“But once I’m free, I’ll be back to stream as soon as possible. Please be patient.”
With that, she cut the livestream feed.
On the black screen, the chat lit up:
“No—Wife!!”
“Aahhh, I was just getting into it!!”
“Probably something related to the League?”
“Yeah, I heard things haven’t been peaceful in the Distortion World lately, so maybe it’s connected.”
“Can’t help it, let’s wait for the streamer to come back. Time to disperse.”
Some viewers left to watch other streamers, but then one comment caught everyone’s attention:
“Guys, I’m going to buy this game and try it out first!”
“Hell yeah, me too, we can play it as well!”
“Looks pretty fun, let’s go!”
A crowd, inspired by Cynthia’s livestream, developed a keen interest in Pokémon Emerald and went straight to purchase the game.
With such high quality and novelty, they didn’t mind spending money to give it a shot.
Meanwhile, others expressed different opinions:
“The ones saying they’ll buy it must be rich guys. 288 is way too expensive; I’m going to keep watching for now.”
“Yeah, my weekly allowance isn’t even that much. I can’t afford it.”
“A pixel game priced at 288... It looks good so far, but what if it tanks later? I’ll hold off on buying.”
As the last comment said, 288 was indeed a steep price for ordinary people to pay for a pixel game, warranting careful consideration.
Still, after Cynthia’s livestream, sales of Pokémon Emerald quietly began to soar.
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After all, even on a weekday, over 200,000 viewers tuned into her livestream. Even if only one percent bought the game, that meant 2,000 copies sold!
...
Meanwhile, beneath the clouds above Veilstone Town,
A deep blue figure streaked through the sky like lightning, heading swiftly into the distance.
It was a bipedal, shark-like Dragon-type Pokémon—the Garchomp!
Its body resembled deep blue armor, with red stripes across its belly and golden scales covering its legs, like a fully armored ancient warrior, exuding immense power and an imposing presence.
Upon closer look, one could see a person sitting astride Garchomp’s back.
That person was none other than Cynthia!
According to League regulations, flying with Pokémon carrying humans is prohibited in city airspace to prevent accidents; but as Champion, she naturally held this privilege.
Besides, she had an urgent mission to handle.
At this moment, Cynthia gazed toward the distant sky, lost in thought.
Though she was about to confront dangerous Pokémon, her mind was occupied with the game she had just played!
The Distortion World Pokémon were not truly dangerous to her, but that game had genuinely stumped her.
NPCs leveling up alongside the player?
And the very first stage in the starter village was already so challenging—how strong would the opponents the game threw at her later be?
Thinking this, Cynthia couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
She hadn’t felt such a thrilling challenge in a long time!
Speaking of which, she was growing increasingly curious about the game’s creator...
Unfortunately, she still hadn’t managed to contact them.
Otherwise... she would definitely want to meet such an intriguing creator.
At the same time, she realized a problem:
Given the game’s quality, its popularity was only a matter of time.
If someone else cleared the game before her and got hold of the creator’s contact information, that would be troublesome.
So she decided: handle the Distortion World quickly, then hurry back to clear the game!
Just then, her phone rang again.
Unlike before, the screen showed no number or contact name, only a string of garbled characters!
Seeing this, Cynthia was momentarily stunned, then smiled with delight and immediately answered.
On the other end came a somewhat lazy voice:
“Hello, Cynthia, long time no see. Miss me?”
She sounded surprised.
“You’re out so soon this time?”
“What, don’t want me to come out, huh?” the voice teased.
“This time it went smoothly. There were fewer weird creatures in the ‘black hole’ this time, so we came out early.”
“Oh, that’s great. I thought it would take at least two months...”
Cynthia quickly said:
“Perfect timing! Can you help me find someone?”
The voice instantly perked up:
“Oh? Someone caught the attention of the Sinnoh Champion... who is it?”
“A League fugitive? An underground dark figure?”
“...Or a mad scientist gone rogue?”
Cynthia shook her head:
“None of those.”
“I’m looking for a game developer.”
Her words caused silence on the other end.
“...?”
After a long pause, he sighed:
“Cynthia, you know my database and hacking skills aren’t meant for tracking game developers just to send them a warning, right?”
Realizing her wording was off, Cynthia quickly clarified:
“It’s like this: he might have information about Giratina.”
“I don’t know if he’s an individual developer or a studio, but I think it’s more likely the latter, so I want you to help me investigate.”
The voice immediately agreed:
“Ah, why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“Alright, I’ll look into it.”
Cynthia sincerely said:
“Thanks, I owe you a meal later.”
The voice chuckled:
“Save the thanks, we’re practically family now.”
“But I’m still crashing that steakhouse at Canalave City’s dock—you’re buying.”
“Gotta go, will contact you when I have news.”
The call ended, and hearing the busy signal, Cynthia put down her phone and exhaled in relief.
With this help... finding that developer shouldn’t be a problem.
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Still, business is business...
She had to keep playing the game!
First, she had to win!
“Garchomp, use Accelerate.”
“Roar!”
A pale blue light flashed with a sonic boom, vanishing into the horizon...
...
Six hours later.
In the Kanto region, in Vermilion City.
“Ah... slept so well...” Ling Feng opened his eyes, sat up, and stretched comfortably.
He instinctively checked his phone for the time.
Instead, he was stunned by the flood of notifications on the screen.
[Leisure Gaming Platform Reminder: Your game “Pokémon Emerald” has sold 1,823 copies today!]
The number kept climbing rapidly.
Staring at this, Ling Feng was dumbfounded.
Huh?
Hadn’t it been less than a day since release? How could it sell so many?
Before uploading the completed game, he had to set a sale price.
He originally wanted to price it low since it was his first game and just a test version; he wasn’t seeking profit but rather to gain emotional points and build a reputation.
But the system insisted that the minimum price had to be 288...
Ling Feng was stunned; 288 was a steep price, likely too high for many players, even those who liked the game.
No matter what he tried, the system stood firm, saying “you get what you pay for,” so he reluctantly set the price at 288.
Before sleeping, he had already prepared himself emotionally for selling zero copies upon waking.
But now...
Seeing sales approaching two thousand, he was completely baffled.
What’s going on??
Are players in this world all that wealthy?
Just then, a golden notification appeared:
[Ding! While the host was sleeping, you earned a total of 720 emotional points from Disdain, Shock, Anticipation, and Joy!]
[Including 320 points from livestream viewers]
[100 points from game purchasers]
[And 300 points from surprise and anticipation from the important character “Sinnoh Champion—Cynthia”!]
Cynthia? The livestream?
Ling Feng immediately understood.
No wonder he sold so many copies overnight!
Turns out Cynthia streamed my game!
—That made perfect sense!!
But what was this game’s deal? Cynthia actually liked it?
The Sinnoh Champion plays games too?
Ling Feng pondered briefly and shook his head.
Forget it, he’d investigate later.
No matter what, this was undeniably a fantastic start.
Judging from sales and emotional points, “Emerald” had already captivated the livestream audience—including Cynthia herself!
Now, let’s see what new game development modules these points can unlock to further improve the game.
There were still so many ideas he hadn’t realized yet due to module limitations.
Just as Ling Feng was about to open the system panel...
He suddenly felt an eerie cold breeze, accompanied by something rushing up from behind!
His hairs stood on end, a chill crawling down his spine as he quickly turned around!
—But saw nothing.
“Huh? Was I still half-asleep?”
Scratching the back of his head, Ling Feng mumbled in confusion.
“Maybe I should wash my face...”
However, the next moment, when he turned around again...
He came face to face with a pair of dark green eyes...
And a faintly flickering, eerie pale blue flame.
Inside the apartment, a loud explosive roar echoed relentlessly.
“Holy crap, a ghost! Aaaahhh!!!”