With the level advantage once again, the outcome of this battle was predictable.
—Treecko was defeated by Torchic's two Embers.
In fact, since both Pokémon had leveled up, a single Ember from Torchic took away 2/3 of Treecko's HP, even more drastically than before.
Watching the computer screen go black again, the character reappeared in the Pokémon Center, and the money icon in the upper right corner changed to -1000.
On Cynthia's live stream, viewers once again flooded the chat.
[Damn, now I understand what that guy meant! "Keeping up" always means a higher level than the player!]
[The game developers are so unfair!] How can they let the NPCs level up along with the player? [Hahaha, the money's gone down to minus 1000! The streamer's bankrupt!]
Although the comments were refreshing, Cynthia didn't notice at all.
At that moment, she was lost in thought.
Clearly, the game developers had anticipated the player's potential reactions, effectively blocking the path to leveling up and completing the game.
That being the case, there's no other way to defeat this opponent!
Treecko's biggest problem against Torchic is its type disadvantage.
The massive damage from the double type advantage is something Treecko's physique simply can't handle.
So how can it overcome the type disadvantage?
Thinking of this, Cynthia's eyes suddenly lit up.
Wait a minute, didn't Professor Birch give her 5 Poké Balls when he left? She could simply catch a Pokémon that countered Torchic in the nearby tall grass using Poké Balls, and the problem would be solved, right?
But even so, Pokémon aren't something you can just catch randomly.
During her last playthrough, she checked her inventory and learned a few rules.
Players have a level cap in each region, and there's also a limit on the number of Pokémon they can have at any given time.
For example, her current Pokémon limit is "2".
The maximum Pokémon limit in the entire game is only "15".
Furthermore, once you acquire a Pokémon, you can't release it; you must keep it until you finish the game.
For a game, these requirements are certainly too strict.
However, these rules resonated with Cynthia. Even in the game, these Pokémon are companions that fight alongside them—not data that can be discarded after use!
That said, in this situation, she had to carefully plan the position of each Pokémon on her team.
She needed to ensure that the next Pokémon she captured would play a crucial role in her future adventures, and that it would also help her successfully overcome the challenges of her current rivals!
Cynthia quickly began to recall the Pokémon she had encountered along the way…
But just then, a sudden ringtone interrupted her thoughts.
It was her phone, which was on her computer desk, ringing.
She picked up the phone, looked at the contact name on the screen, and answered immediately.
A voice, audible only to her, came through the phone:
"Ms. Cynthia, I'm sorry, I know you're on vacation, but the Pokémon in the Spirit World have started acting up again for some reason. We suspect that a new Spirit Tide is about to appear, and the entrance to the Spirit World in Eterna City needs your help!"
Upon hearing this, Cynthia's expression softened slightly, and she nodded.
"Okay, I understand. I'm on my way."
Then, she addressed the viewers of the live stream and apologized:
"I'm sorry, I have some matters to attend to, so today's live stream ends here."
"However, I'll be back as soon as I have time to continue the stream, so please bear with me."
After saying that, she immediately cut the live stream signal.
Comments appeared on the black screen:
[No, wife!]
[Ahhhhh, I was getting excited!] [I guess the League has some kind of arrangement?]
[I think so too. I've heard there hasn't been any peace in the Spirit Realm lately; it might be related to this.]
[Well, let's wait for the streamer to return. That's all for now.]
Some viewers of the live stream had already gone to watch other streamers, but just then, a comment woke everyone up:
[Guys, I'm going to buy this game and try it out!]
[Wow, yeah, we can play it too!]
[It looks so much fun, let's go!]
A group of people, after watching Cynthia's live stream, became very interested in Pokémon Emerald and immediately went to buy the game.
With such high quality and such a novel look, they naturally didn't mind spending money to try it out.
Meanwhile, another group expressed a different opinion.
[Those who wanted to buy it earlier must be really rich. 288 is way too expensive. I'll wait and see.]
[Yeah, I don't even have that much for a week's expenses.] I can't afford it.]
[A pixel art game costs 288. Although it seems pretty good for now, what if it falls short later? I'm in no hurry to buy it.]
As the last comment mentioned, 288 is a high price for the average person. Buying a pixel art game requires a lot of thought.
Even so, after Cynthia's live stream, sales of "Pokémon Emerald" have quietly started to climb.
Even though it was a weekday, the number of viewers who watched her stream exceeded 200,000. Even if only one percent of those viewers were willing to buy the game, 2,000 copies were sold!
Meanwhile, above Skyloft, beneath the clouds.
An intense blue shadow streaked across the sky like lightning, disappearing into the distance. It was a Garchomp, a Dragon-type Pokémon resembling a bipedal shark with a sleek and powerful body!
Its body was like a deep blue suit of armor, with red stripes covering its belly and golden scales covering its legs, giving it the appearance of an ancient, fully armored warrior, exuding a powerful aura and a sense of oppression.
But upon closer inspection, it was clear that a person was sitting on this Garchomp's back.
That person was none other than Cynthia!
According to the League's rules, to prevent accidents, it was forbidden to use Pokémon to transport humans in flight over cities, but as Champion, she naturally possessed this privilege.
Furthermore, she had an urgent mission to attend to.
At that moment, Cynthia gazed at the distant sky, seemingly lost in thought.
Even though she was about to face some dangerous Pokémon, she was thinking about the game she had just played!
The Pokémon of the Spirit World weren't truly dangerous to her, but that game had left her genuinely perplexed.
Were the NPCs in the game leveling up along with her?
Even the first level in the starting village was this challenging; how strong would the opponents the game would throw at her later on be?
Thinking about this, Cynthia couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation.
It had been ages since she'd experienced such a challenge!
And speaking of which, she was becoming increasingly interested in the game's creator.
It was a shame she couldn't contact him yet.
Otherwise, she definitely wanted to meet such an interesting creator.
At the same time, she realized a problem:
Given the game's quality, its popularity was only a matter of time. But what if someone finished it before her and got hold of the author's contact information? That would be troublesome.
In the Spirit World, she had to finish quickly and then return quickly to complete the game!
Cynthia made a decision.
At that moment, the phone on her waistband rang again.
Unlike usual, the screen didn't display any contact numbers or names; instead, it showed nonsense!
Seeing this nonsense, Cynthia was stunned, then her face lit up with surprise, and she answered the phone immediately.
On the other end, a somewhat languid voice said:
"Hello, Sister Cynthia, it's been a long time. Did you miss me?"
Cynthia still seemed a little surprised.
"You got out so quickly this time?"
"What? Didn't you want me to get out?"
The voice teased.
"This time it went pretty well. There were fewer monsters in the 'Black Hole,' so we got out sooner than expected after dealing with them."
"Great! I thought it would take us at least two months."
Upon hearing this, Cynthia immediately said,
"You're just in time! Can you help me find someone?"
The voice suddenly became more interested:
"Oh, really? Who does our Sinnoh Champion have his sights set on?"
"A criminal wanted by the League? A shadowy figure from the underworld?"
"Or some rogue mad scientist?"
Cynthia denied it:
"None of those."
"It's a game developer."
At this, there was an instant silence on the other end of the phone.
"...?"
After a long pause, he finally spoke with a sigh:
"Sister Cynthia, you should know about my database and my hacking skills. I shouldn't use them to find game developers and send them death threats, should I?"
Cynthia realized her mistake and quickly added,
"That's right, I might have information about Rayquaza."
I don't know if it's a solo developer or a studio. I think the latter is more likely, so I wanted to ask you to help me investigate.
The voice nodded immediately.
"Ah, I see. You should have said so sooner!"
"Okay, I'll help you look."
Cynthia said sincerely,
"Thank you, I'll treat you to dinner later."
The voice chuckled:
"No need to thank me, we're practically family."
"But I still want to eat something. Let's go to that steakhouse at the Canal City docks, it's your treat."
"I'll hang up now, I'll contact you if I have any news."
The call ended, and hearing the busy signal, Cynthia hung up and breathed a sigh of relief.
With this person's help... finding the creator shouldn't be a problem.
But one thing at a time...
She still wants to play!
He wants to get first place!
"Garchomp, speed up!"
"Roar!"
A beam of blue light flashed with a sonic boom, disappearing into the sky in an instant.
Six hours later.
Kanto Region, Viridian City.
"Whew, what a restful sleep!"
Ling Feng opened his eyes in his rented room, sat up, and stretched comfortably.
He unconsciously opened his phone to check the time.
However, he was astonished to see the notifications rapidly updating on the screen.
[Leyou Platform reminds you: Your game "Pokémon Emerald" has sold 1,823 copies today!]
This number kept steadily increasing.
Seeing this, Ling Feng was stunned.
Huh?
It hasn't even been a day since its release, how could it have sold so many?
This game is finished; before uploading it, a selling price must be set. Initially, he had planned to price it lower, since it was his first game, still a beta version, and he wasn't looking to make a profit; his main goal was to accumulate more emotional points and raise brand awareness.
However, the system indicated that the minimum price was 288.
Ling Feng was stunned. 288 was an exorbitant price, a level that many players would hesitate to buy even if they liked it.
But, no matter what he said, the system wouldn't budge on the price, insisting that "you get what you pay for." Ling Feng had no choice but to give in and set the price at 288.
Before falling asleep, he had mentally prepared himself for the game not to sell a single copy.
But now…
Seeing the sales figures approaching two thousand, Ling Feng was completely stunned.
What's going on?!
Are all the gamers in this world so rich?! Just as he was confused, another golden notification suddenly appeared before his eyes:
[Ding! While you were sleeping, you earned a huge number of points from four emotions: disdain, surprise, anticipation, and joy—a total of 720 points!
[Points from viewers of the live stream: 320 points]
[Points from players who purchased the game: 100 points]
[Points from the important character "Sinnoh Champion - Cynthia" (surprise and anticipation): 300 points!]
Cynthia, on a live stream?
Ling Feng realized instantly.
No wonder so many games sold out when I woke up!
So it was Cynthia streaming my game!
"No wonder!"
But what about my game? Did Cynthia really like it?
Does the Sinnoh Champion actually play video games? Ling Feng pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly.
Never mind, I'll check it later.
Anyway, whatever... it's certainly a good start.
Judging by the sales and feedback on the points, the content of "Emerald" has definitely already attracted viewers of this live stream, including Cynthia herself!
Now, let's see what new game creation modules we can redeem with these points to further enhance the game.
He still had many ideas, but without the modules, he couldn't implement them.
Just as Ling Feng was about to open the system panel,
he suddenly felt a blast of icy wind, accompanied by something that abruptly attacked him from behind.
His hair stood on end, and with a feeling of fear, Ling Feng quickly turned around.
But he didn't see anything.
"Huh? Am I still half asleep?"
Scratching the back of his neck, Ling Feng muttered to himself in confusion, "I should wash my face."
However, the next instant, as he turned around...
he came face to face with a pair of small, dark green eyes, and a strange, mysterious pale blue candle flame flickered and burned.
Inside the rented room, a loud scream was heard, its echo lingering.
"Good heavens, a ghost!"
(End of chapter)