To clarify, Pokémon: Ultimate Emerald (Lunatic Edition) wasn't a game Leo coded from scratch. It was based on a notorious ROM hack from Earth, infamous for making grown men weep.
This version integrated mechanics from later generations—Physical/Special splits, Fairy types, Mega Evolution—and crammed them into the Hoenn region. But the real kicker was the AI.
In standard Pokémon games, opponents are lobotomized. They use 'Growl' when you have 1 HP left. They spam ineffective moves.
In Ultimate Emerald, the AI was a tactical genius.
Gym Leaders would switch out disadvantaged Pokémon. They would predict your moves. They used competitive items like Choice Scarves and Focus Sashes. They set up entry hazards. They stalled.
And that was just the base game.
The 'Lunatic Mode' Leo was implementing took it a step further. It removed level caps for enemies while enforcing them for the player. It gave Gym Leaders perfect IVs and EVs. It was designed to be unfair.
"System," Leo muttered, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he finalized the difficulty spike. "Can we make the first rival battle have a level 10 starter with an Oran Berry?"
[Affirmative. Sadism levels adjusted to maximum.]
"Good," Leo nodded. "Execute."
He spent the entire night refining the code. The System accelerated the process exponentially, turning weeks of work into hours, but Leo was a perfectionist. He tweaked dialogue, adjusted encounter rates, and polished the pixel art until it gleamed.
By the time the sun began to bleed through his curtains, the folder was ready.
He dragged it to the Alliance Indie Hub upload box.
[Uploading: Pokémon - Ultimate Emerald (Beta Ver.)][Status: Complete.]
No error message. No red X. Just a clean, green checkmark.
Leo let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding for a week. He stumbled away from the desk, his body heavy with exhaustion. He didn't even bother undressing; he just collapsed face-first onto his mattress.
"If I don't sleep now," he mumbled into his pillow, "I'm going to hallucinate a Jigglypuff singing me a lullaby."
He was out in seconds.
The room fell silent, save for the hum of the computer tower.
Then, a shadow detached itself from the heavy drapes.
It was small, white, and shaped like a melting candle. A purplish-blue flame flickered atop its head, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
A Litwick.
It floated silently toward the bed, its yellow eyes wide and hungry. Litwicks were deceptively cute. In reality, they were parasites that fed on life force.
So hungry... the Litwick thought, drifting closer to the sleeping human. This one smells... potent. Strange. Like he's from far away.
It hovered over Leo's head.
Just a little nibble. He won't even notice.
Saturday morning. The busiest time for the Alliance's entertainment network.
On the Psyduck Streaming Platform, a notification went out, and a dormant channel suddenly flickered to life.
Instantly, the viewer count skyrocketed. 10,000. 50,000. 100,000.
"She's live! The Queen is live!" "Is this a drill?! OMG!" "I canceled my wedding for this!"
The screen faded in. The background was a sleek, high-res wallpaper of a Garchomp roaring in a sandstorm.
In the webcam window sat a woman who could only be described as royalty.
She had long, flowing blonde hair that cascaded down to her waist like liquid gold. Her eyes were a piercing, intelligent gray. She wore a simple black top, but she carried herself with an air of absolute authority softened by a gentle smile.
Cynthia. The Sinnoh League Champion. The strongest Trainer in the region, and arguably, the world.
"Good morning, everyone," Cynthia said, her voice smooth and melodic. "It's been a quiet week at the League, so I thought I'd stop by and say hello. I've missed you all."
The chat moved so fast it was a blur of text.
"WE MISSED YOU TOO CYNTHIA!" "Marry me pls." "I rode my bike from Twinleaf Town to the nearest cyber café just to watch this!"
Cynthia chuckled, leaning back in her gaming chair. "You guys are too much. Alright, since I'm here, what should we play? I have the morning off."
"BATTLE ROAD!" the chat screamed in unison. "Play Battle Road, Cynthia! Teach us the meta!"
Cynthia nodded. "Battle Road it is."
Battle Road was the current big thing. It was a battle simulator developed by DreamWorks, the biggest studio in the world. It was clunky, buggy, and hadn't been updated in six months, but it was the only game that let you battle with somewhat realistic mechanics. It was the "National Game" by default.
Cynthia clicked the icon.
A loading wheel spun for thirty seconds. Then—
[Error 503: Server Connection Failed. Please try again later.]
The chat exploded in rage.
"Classic DreamWorks." "They make billions and can't buy a decent server." "Trash game. Trash company."
Cynthia sighed, closing the window. "Well, that's unfortunate. It seems Battle Road is down again. Any other suggestions?"
The chat threw out names of terrible games. Angry Geodude. Pikachu Run. Flappy Fearow.
Then, a Super Chat donation popped up in bright red.
[User: FishLover99 donated $500]Message: Hey Cynthia! The Alliance Indie Hub is having a 'New Release Festival'. Maybe check the 'New' tab? There might be something hidden there.
Cynthia smiled. "That's a great idea. Let's see what the indie developers are up to."
She navigated to the Indie Hub. The front page was depressing. It was mostly clones of Angry Geodude.
Rolling Voltorb.Rolling Magnemite.Rolling Spheal.
"Originality isn't their strong suit today," Cynthia murmured.
She scrolled down, her interest waning. She was about to close the tab when a thumbnail caught her eye.
It wasn't a poorly drawn cartoon. It was pixel art, but the composition was striking.
Clouds swirled in a dark sky. And amidst the clouds, a long, serpentine green dragon coiled, marked with glowing yellow patterns.
Cynthia froze.
She leaned closer to the monitor. Her heart skipped a beat.
She recognized that silhouette. She was a Champion, but she was also a scholar of mythology. She had spent years studying ancient ruins and deciphering crumbling tablets.
That wasn't just a dragon. That was Rayquaza.
The Sky High Pokémon. A legend so old most people thought it was a fairy tale. The last records of its appearance had been lost centuries ago.
"How..." Cynthia whispered, her hand hovering over the mouse. "How is that on a game cover?"
Was it a coincidence? Did someone just draw a cool dragon?
No. The markings were too precise. The anatomical structure was perfect. Whoever drew this had seen Rayquaza, or had access to texts that even the League didn't have.
She looked at the developer name.
Dev: Feng.
A single name. No studio. No company link.
"Mysterious," she noted. She tried to click on the profile, but it was empty. No contact info.
She clicked on the game page.
Title: Pokémon: Emerald (Beta Ver.)
Description: Catch Pokémon. Train your team. embark on an adventure.
Simple. Almost suspiciously simple.
Then she saw the red warning text below.
WARNING: This game is intended for professional-grade Trainers only. The developer is not responsible for broken keyboards, high blood pressure, or emotional trauma caused by difficulty.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Emotional trauma? From a pixel game?"
Then she saw the second line.
REWARD: The first player to clear the Beta will receive a special Friend Code to contact the developer directly. Plus a cash prize of $15,000.
Cynthia sat up straight.
The money was irrelevant. She made more than that in a single exhibition match.
But the contact info?
If this 'Feng' knew about Rayquaza, she needed to talk to him. She needed to know his source. As a historian, she couldn't let this slide.
"Alright," Cynthia said to the stream, her voice serious. "I found something interesting. We're playing this."
She clicked 'Buy'.
A payment window popped up.
[Price: $45.00]
Cynthia blinked.
Forty-five dollars? For an indie pixel game? Angry Geodude cost fifteen bucks, and that was considered expensive. This was triple the market standard.
"That is... bold," Cynthia said, a dry smile touching her lips. "This 'Feng' person is either a genius or a scammer. Let's find out which."
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