The trailer kept rolling. The handwritten "SOS" note sat on the ground, impossible to miss.
The Charmander protagonist and the scarf-wearing Pikachu locked eyes, clearly thinking the same thing.
Cut to rapid gameplay footage showcasing the core mechanics.
More pixel art!
But the graphics were clean. The lighting effects and details looked spot-on.
The scene shifted to a treehouse base called the Wigglytuff Guild. Charmander and Pikachu were recruiting teammates. A shy Bulbasaur and an upbeat Squirtle joined up.
Four little figures assembled and headed into a forest dungeon entrance.
Inside the maze, grass, rocks, and puddles dotted the ground.
During exploration, Bulbasaur stepped on a hidden trap. The ground gave way beneath it, revealing sharp stone spikes below!
At the last second, Squirtle blasted upward with a water jet while Bulbasaur whipped out a vine, grabbing an overhead root and pulling itself to safety.
Then combat broke out!
A swarm of Rattata and Spearow burst from the grass and trees. Charmander breathed scorching flames, Pikachu charged like a yellow lightning bolt, Squirtle hammered opponents with water attacks, and Bulbasaur wrapped enemies up with thick vines.
The battles were clean and straightforward. Skills interacted freely with the environment, making everything feel real.
During further exploration, Charmander found an Oran Berry in a patch of glowing grass.
Finally, deep in a damp, dark cave, they found the Pokémon who'd sent the distress signal: a shivering Lotad. A golden notification popped up!
[Rescue Successful!]
Lotad rushed forward excitedly, throwing its arms around Charmander with a huge grateful smile.
Yancy watched the smooth gameplay demo, her eyes lighting up.
So that's what rescue team means!
The chat reacted immediately.
[Oh! You play as Pokémon rescuing other Pokémon!]
[Dungeon crawling plus random battles plus rescue missions... this combo sounds solid.]
[The traps and skill interactions look so realistic! When Bulbasaur fell, I totally jumped, haha!]
[Item collecting and battling... looks like it's got everything!]
[Pokémon hugging is so wholesome!]
The trailer picked up speed, cutting to story snippets.
At the guild, when Guildmaster Wigglytuff asked Charmander, "Where do you come from?", it looked confused and puzzled.
Deep in a mysterious forest, ominous purple-black mist swirled, carrying the faint echo of a pained cry.
It came from a terrifying ice-blue giant bird radiating overwhelming power.
Its wings looked bound by thick, dark shadows. A figure shrouded in darkness let out a low, sinister laugh.
[Holy crap! That's gotta be a Legendary Pokémon!!!]
[There's a villain controlling Legendary Pokémon!]
The chat exploded.
Right then, the footage hit its climax. The background music swelled into something epic and stirring.
The Pokémon squad raced through completely different dungeon environments: a forest maze where sunlight carved through massive leaves, a volcanic maze with flowing lava and heat-distorted air, an icy mountain maze with howling winds and snow, and ancient ruin mazes filled with mechanisms and murals.
They worked together, overcoming obstacle after obstacle. Squirtle and Bulbasaur teamed up, using water and vines to put out deep blue ghostly flames blocking their path.
Pikachu and Charmander coordinated explosive blasts to clear a path for their teammates across broken cliffs.
The footage was dynamic and intense. Every coordinated move sparked waves of amazement in the chat.
The trailer ended with a freeze-frame.
A lone Charmander stood atop towering ruin walls, looking toward a horizon painted red by the setting sun.
Behind it stood Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and other reliable companions with determined eyes who'd fought alongside it all the way.
A massive title slammed onto the center of the screen:
Pokémon: Mystery Dungeon – Time Rescue Team
Followed by two lines of bold text:
[Completely Free • No In-App Purchases • For All Pokémon Fans]
Finally, the screen faded to black.
A new logo emitting soft starlight slowly appeared: "Dream Journey."
Below the logo was an elegant, stylized tagline:
"We don't create games; we're simply carriers of fantastical journeys."
Further below, a small line read: "Crafted by the core team from the original Dream Factory."
Throughout the entire trailer, the chat's reactions had been like a roller coaster, not just at the big moments.
When they first saw the pixel graphics:
[Pixel art again???]
[No way, dude. Didn't Dark Phantom have really good 3D graphics? Why go backwards to Emerald?]
When they saw all Pokémon with no human characters:
[All Pokémon, no humans?]
[Wait, what? Then how do I catch Pokémon? How do I challenge gyms?]
[This gameplay seems weird! Can it even be fun?]
But as the actual gameplay demo continued:
[Become a Pokémon?]
[This actually looks kind of cool?]
[We've never had a game like this before...]
[Rescue team? Helping other Pokémon? This theme is... fresh!]
And when that new Dream Journey logo and subtitle appeared, the chat absolutely lost it:
[Wait! That logo! "Dream Journey"?!]
[What does the subtitle say? "Crafted by the core team from the original Dream Factory"???]
[Holy shit! Dream Factory's people joined Wind?]
[They teamed up?! Those two... working together?]
[Wait, isn't Dream Factory all about milking money? Why would they work with Wind? And make a FREE game??]
[Probably couldn't hang on, right? Dream Factory must be jealous seeing Wind Studio raking it in!]
Other chat messages were anxious about different things:
[Streamer, stop watching! Download the game and play!]
[Yeah, Yancy, do a test run! I'm dying here!]
Right then, the trailer ended, and the camera cut back to Yancy.
She looked shocked, too.
"That trailer was loaded with info! Free! Pixel art! Playing as Pokémon! And... the Dream Factory original team forming this... what is it, Dream Journey?" She pointed at the frozen logo and subtitle on screen.
She never expected to see the day when she'd play a free game made by Dream Factory.
That was just too wild.
Just then, she remembered she'd been so caught up watching that she hadn't responded to chat.
Looking at the rapidly scrolling messages, she picked out some key ones:
"The free part really blew my mind. Just like Emerald, Wind is so... bold! But I love it! Hehe~"
She continued with a smile:
"As for the pixel art... yeah, I get what you're all thinking. Dark Phantom's 3D graphics were definitely great. But look at the dungeon scenes in the trailer.
This top-down, grid-based exploration actually works really well with pixel art. Plus, their pixel graphics are still super polished and detailed, not lacking at all! See how those Pokémon move? They look alive, right?"
She pointed at the replay of the Pokémon's lively interactions in the trailer.
"No trainer, playing as a Pokémon... that setup is genuinely fresh! I've played some games with Pokémon as protagonists, but actually 'becoming' a Pokémon to go on adventures and help other Pokémon... that perspective is so unique! It feels like the theme will be about 'bonds' and 'helping each other,' right?"
Her tone carried anticipation.
Focusing on Dream Factory: "About Dream Factory... wow, you guys are going at it! Even 'colluding' showed up?"
"I think everyone should hold off on jumping to conclusions. This isn't really Dream Factory anymore.
That tagline at the end: 'We don't create games; we're simply carriers of fantastical journeys'... and this new name 'Dream Journey.'
It feels like... the talented people from Dream Factory probably bailed and joined Wind Studio."
"Besides, this studio's previous two releases speak for themselves. Whether it's good or bad, we'll know after playing! And hey, it's free!" She glanced at the download link in the corner of her stream, its counter skyrocketing.
The chat responded:
[Yancy's right!]
[True, if it's free, even if it sucks, I'll give it a shot!]
[The pixel art actually looks pretty good, the more I watch.]
[Becoming a Pokémon... kind of want to try it!]
[Dream Journey... I'll wait and see. Hope they don't ruin a classic.]
[Let's go! Downloading now!]
Yancy clapped her hands. "Alright, alright, whatever the case, the proof is in the pudding! I've already downloaded the game. Let's jump in!"
She launched the game icon on her desktop. After a brief loading screen, what appeared wasn't a straightforward character selection menu.
In the center of the screen, a line of clear, slightly old-fashioned pixel text floated up:
[Welcome to the world of wonder, lost traveler. Before embarking on your journey, let us understand the essence of your heart...]
Then, one after another, questions began appearing. Each had two distinctly different options:
[1. Which do you prefer?]
[A. Running under clear blue skies.]
[B. Contemplating during silent rainy nights.]
[2. When a friend is in trouble, you will...?]
[A. Jump in to help without a second thought!]
[B. Stay calm and analyze the situation to find the best solution.]
The questions kept coming, varied in style, covering different aspects.
Yancy looked at these questions, a bit confused, then realized: "So... this is some kind of personality test? What will this affect?"
"Whatever," she said excitedly to chat. "Come on, everyone, help me choose!"
Hearing that, the chat got lively:
[Choose A! Choose A! Be a hothead!]
[B! B! Calm analysis is the way!]
[Yancy's so reckless, she'll definitely pick all A's!]
[No way, Yancy's clearly thoughtful! Pick B!]
[Oh no, after this test finishes, will she even be allowed into the game?]
[Haha, maybe! Maximum entertainment!]
Yancy read the questions aloud while interacting with chat and making her choices:
"First one... hmm... I like sunny days, but gaming on rainy days is also awesome... I'll pick A! Running is fun!"
"Friend in trouble? No question! A! Let's go!"
Chat:
[Haha, streamer's definitely a hothead.]
Yancy looked at the third question:
[3. Facing a powerful opponent, your first reaction is...?]
[A. Blood pumping! Charge straight ahead!]
[B. Assess the risk, find weaknesses or a way out.]
"Powerful opponent? Uh... while I'd love to pick A, realistically I'd totally chicken out... B! Check the situation first!"
[A real hothead? I'm not so sure.]
Next came the fourth question:
[4. In a dungeon, you focus more on...?]
[A. Getting to the goal quickly!]
[B. Exploring every corner, not missing any secrets.]
"Exploring a dungeon? Obviously B! Can't miss a single treasure chest!!"
[Classic streamer move, always has to clear the entire area before moving on.]
Then came the final question.
This one seemed deeper:
[5. If you had to choose, you'd rather become...?]
[A. The flame that lights the way for others.]
[B. The shield that protects others.]
Yancy scanned it, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
"Light the way or protect others? Hmm... this is tough... I want to pick C—both light the way AND protect! ...No? Can only pick one? Then... A!"
[Why do the streamer's choices feel so all over the place?]
[Split personality.jpg]
A few minutes later, all questions were finally answered. The screen went dark, as if running complex calculations.
Yancy pressed her palms together, nervous but excited.
What did those multiple-choice questions actually mean?
A few seconds later, a soft glow appeared. A Pokémon's silhouette emerged in the center of the screen.
As the light gradually cleared, those signature ears, lightning-bolt tail, and red cheeks became visible!
It was Pikachu!
Yancy immediately got it.
Since this game had you playing as a Pokémon, was the test to see which Pokémon suited her?
The final result was actually Pikachu?
"This actually seems... pretty good! Starting as Pikachu!"
She smiled.
But just when she thought the result was final, another small silhouette with two flame-like crests suddenly appeared next to the Pikachu outline on screen!
Torchic!
"Huh??? Two??"
She froze.
Then text appeared on screen:
[After testing, your heart holds dual qualities!]
[You possess Pikachu's cleverness, curiosity, and hidden explosive power!]
[While also embodying Torchic's passion, fearlessness, and drive to push forward!]
[Please choose the form you wish to become and begin your rescue team career!]
[Or... due to your dual nature, you may select an extremely special identity to start this journey.]
Following the prompt, two option buttons appeared below: [Pikachu] and [Torchic].
There was also a "?" option glowing with rainbow light.
The chat instantly exploded again:
[Double result?! That's possible?!]
[Holy crap! Hidden option? This is gonna be good!]
[Streamer, I don't need to tell you what to pick. You're a pro now.]
[LMAO, after picking the mystery option, she's not gonna turn into a Magikarp, is she? haha...]