In this world, Pokémon have long been an integral part of people's lives; their presence can be seen in every corner of the city.
"Harmony between humans and Pokémon" isn't just an empty slogan, but a real and tangible reality!
In the week since Ling Feng transmigrated to this world, he's seen quite a few Pokémon, from Meowth grooming himself in a corner to Eevee being carried by a girl, and Pidgey flying through the sky... he's already used to it all.
However, the problem is that, aside from a few occasional outings, he's spent most of the week in his room, thinking about how to create a game.
After all, he has to pay the rent soon, and if he doesn't get the money, the landlord will evict him!
So, in reality, he hasn't had any close contact with Pokémon this week.
But now he has!
And this contact came completely unexpectedly! Startled by the sudden appearance, Ling Feng instinctively took two steps back before calming himself and carefully observing the Pokémon before him.
A candle-like shape, a deep blue flame…
It was a Litwick, and a Shiny one at that!
Why was there a Ghost-type Pokémon in his room?
Ling Feng tensed instantly.
Ghost-type Pokémon are extremely rare; they are seldom found in cities, but mostly in remote areas. They feed almost exclusively on the energy of other life forms, making them incredibly dangerous!
Litwick is one of them. According to his memories, these creatures, though adorable, silently devour human souls!
In other words, a moment of carelessness could result in his soul being absorbed!
At that moment, Ling Feng stared intently at Litwick, and Litwick stared back.
A man and a Pokémon stared at each other, and a profound silence fell between them.
As Ling Feng backed away step by step, he noticed that the Lidlight in front of him seemed motionless...
Furthermore, even at such close range, he felt no discomfort.
So... this little one didn't "eat" me?
Ling Feng pondered carefully.
This Lidlight shouldn't have made it into his room; after all, he had felt a little chilly while he slept.
It was summer now, so it shouldn't be like this. This creature should have been here for a while.
But upon waking, he felt refreshed and full of energy; it didn't seem as if his soul had been drained at all.
Looking at the Lidlight... the flame above its head flickered weakly, as if it were about to go out at any moment. How could it be in this state after a soul-feeding spree? Considering the current situation, did this mean the little one didn't intend to harm him?
"Uh... Hello?"
Ling Feng cautiously waved.
"Mo Fu—"
The Candle Spirit looked at him and responded with a soft call.
But Ling Feng realized he didn't understand at all.
What did it mean?
"Mo Fu, Mo Fu!"
The Candle Spirit called again, his voice somewhat hurried; the flame above his head swiveled, pointing like an arrow toward his own body.
From a human perspective, that place... was it probably his stomach?
Ling Feng immediately guessed and asked cautiously,
"Are you hungry?"
The Candle Spirit nodded vigorously.
"Wait for me a moment, stay here, don't move, I'll bring you something to eat right away."
Ling Feng said, then turned and hurried out of the room.
Leaving Litwick behind, tilting her head, her small green eyes watching the direction Ling Feng had gone, seemingly a little lost.
Is he gone?
But I heard there was food.
Food... that sounds good.
I'm starving.
But I can't eat people.
People will feel uncomfortable.
Hmm.
With Pokémon and Trainers everywhere, the Pokémon industry is quite developed.
Although Ling Feng lived in a relatively remote part of Viridian City, there was a shop downstairs that sold Pokémon items.
After withdrawing the money from the sale of two thousand copies of the game from the platform, he went straight to the shop and chose the most expensive food for Ghost-type Pokémon.
This food was specially created by breeders for Ghost-type Pokémon. Considering their unique need for souls, it was carefully formulated to contain special energy that would replenish it.
Although it wasn't as effective as Ghost-type Pokémon directly absorbing souls, it was sufficient to cover their basic needs.
After all, a Trainer couldn't let Ghost-type Pokémon absorb people, right?
That would make him look like a heretic with a magic banner, and the League would arrest him...
After buying the food, Ling Feng hurriedly took it home and placed the jar in front of Litwick.
"Sorry to wait, eat."
Litwick peeked his head out, curiously sniffing the black food in the jar; his eyes immediately lit up.
"Mo Fu! Mo Fu!"
The next instant, he plunged his head into the jar.
The food in the jar began to disappear rapidly, at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This eating rate startled Ling Feng.
Good heavens! How many days had he been starving? Eating this fast?
After half the jar of food had disappeared, Litwick finally stopped.
The flame above his head was also much brighter than before.
"Mo Fu..."
He let out a squeal of satisfaction, squinting, his gaze filling with affection and gratitude as he looked at Ling Feng.
"I'm glad you're satisfied. You're welcome."
Ling Feng smiled, a sigh of relief washing over him.
Luckily, the food was expensive for a reason. Even though a jar cost over two thousand, at least Litwick liked it... that was enough.
But, getting to the point, didn't he understand Pokémon?
According to the original work, Pokémon can understand human speech, and while humans can't directly grasp the nuances of Pokémon words, they can at least get the general meaning.
When a trainer and Pokémon develop a close relationship, this barrier disappears completely, allowing for seamless communication.
But when he heard Litwick speak, he didn't understand a single word and could only guess.
This was quite troublesome.
Just as Ling Feng was pondering this, a golden notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Host needs to know the Pokémon language!]
[Recommended for you: Pokémon Language Translation Module (Basic)]
[After unlocking this module, you will be able to understand any Pokémon's language and accurately reproduce their calls and real-world language in the game.] [Unlocking this module requires 100 Emotion Points.]
Upon seeing the information, Ling Feng's eyes lit up.
With this, he could understand Litwick's speech!
Furthermore, unlocking this module would also be useful for game development.
This effect, which perfectly recreates Pokémon calls and speech... would greatly enhance the game's realism!
He could even add this feature to Emerald immediately!
And this module wasn't expensive; it only required 100 Emotion Points!
He currently had over 600 points.
With this in mind, Ling Feng didn't hesitate to buy it.
[Purchase successful, module activated, current host has 562 Emotion Points remaining!] After reading the prompts, Ling Feng looked at Litwick again and asked,
"Are you full?"
"Mo Fu! Mo!"
"I'm full! Thank you, human!"]
Litwick nodded, and Ling Feng clearly understood the meaning of its cry.
But this way of speaking... why does it sound so familiar?
Ling Feng paused and asked again,
"How long have you been in my room?"
"Mo Fu Mo Fu, Mo."
"A long time! The human has been playing with the big can. I'll wait until you fall asleep so I can eat you."
Those words sent a chill down Ling Feng's spine. Even though he knew Litwick was referring to a soul, they still sounded quite terrifying. He composed himself before continuing, "So why didn't you eat me in the end?"
This time, Lidlight didn't answer immediately, but thought for a moment:
"Mo Fu."
[Because it makes people uncomfortable, and I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable.]
Ling Feng was stunned.
What the heck?!
What is this? Did he just unlock an SSR-level Pokémon?
Just as the language of flowers for the Stray Cat is "first come, first served," the language of flowers for the Unclaimed Pokémon is also "first come, first served." Ling Feng made a decision without hesitation and extended his hand to Lidlight:
"In that case, would you like to come with me from now on? I'll take care of all your food, so you won't go hungry and you won't have to worry about absorbing other people's souls and making them uncomfortable anymore."
For Ghost-type Pokémon, absorbing souls isn't just an instinct, but also a way to replenish energy.
But if they could replenish energy by other means, why would they need to eat souls?
Unless they are inherently ferocious Ghost-type Pokémon that enjoy devouring souls.
But clearly, Litwick wasn't that kind of being.
Hearing this, its eyes lit up, and it nodded repeatedly, happily skipping around Ling Feng.
"Mo fu!"
[How kind! Thank you!]
Ling Feng smiled and picked up Litwick.
"Then please take care of me from now on, Litwick."
"Mo fu~"
To Ling Feng's surprise, Litwick's ethereal body, like the Ghost-type Pokémon, felt like soft, fluffy jelly—very comfortable.
Moreover, holding it didn't make him feel cold at all; on the contrary, it felt very warm.
Eh...
It's hot, but why is it suddenly so hot?
Ling Feng unconsciously looked down.
Oh, I thought something was wrong. It turns out my clothes are on fire.
Huh?
Wait?
On fire?
The next instant, a scream echoed again in the rented room.
Fire! Ahhhhhh.
...
Five minutes later.
Ling Feng emptied a pile of ashes into the trash can, now dressed in an old, patched-up suit, and sighed softly.
He had forgotten that Litwick was a Fire-type Pokémon; that flame on its head wasn't just for show.
It seemed he would have to buy fireproof clothing if he wanted to hug Litwick again.
He would also have to stay alert, or the house would burn down sooner or later.
He turned around and found Litwick asleep against the corner of the wall.
While it slept, the flame above its head had diminished considerably, leaving only a tiny point.
"It's tired, isn't it?"
Ling Feng thought for a moment and then decided not to disturb it.
He had originally wanted to ask Litwick where it came from, but now he would let the little one rest.
As for himself,
he sat back down in front of his computer.
The software showed that Pokémon Emerald had sold 2,125 copies, successfully surpassing the 2,000 mark.
But this number had stagnated for several minutes, without increasing further.
Ling Feng wasn't surprised.
Judging by the system notification, Cynthia's live stream must have ended, because she hadn't received many excitement points, just a few scattered ones.
This revenue likely came from the more than two thousand players who had purchased and were playing the game.
With over 2,000 copies sold, after deducting the platform's commission, her earnings amounted to just over 450,000.
Naturally, the financial pressure had vanished.
But from the moment he acquired the system, Ling Feng's goal in creating the game went far beyond simply making money.
He wanted everyone in this world to experience the joy of Pokémon games!
Well, of course, torment is also a kind of pleasure; after all, pain and pleasure are intertwined.
Gathering his thoughts, Ling Feng began to consider his current situation.
His main goal was undoubtedly to fully create "Pokémon Emerald" and officially release it.
However, many of his ideas definitely exceeded the capabilities of the system's current low-level module technology.
He casually opened the system panel and reviewed the module interface.
There was a considerable number of low-quality modules, seemingly endless.
For example, there were modules like the [Card Game Module] and the [Roguelike Game Module], which increased the speed and quality of game development for specific game types.
And then there were modules like the [Ultra High Definition Blu-ray Graphics Module] and the [Top-of-the-Line Professional Music Setup Module], which improved game performance and overall quality.
All of these modules cost around 300 points. Given Ling Feng's current situation, buying a couple more wouldn't be a problem.
However, his gaze fell without hesitation on a module:
[Intelligent Module (Low Level)]
[Description: Adds advanced artificial intelligence with individual responses to all game units, including NPCs, Pokémon, etc., allowing them to act intelligently based on real-world situations.]
[Price: 500 points]
This module was much more expensive than the other low-quality ones, but Ling Feng's gaze remained fixed on it.
What is the most important thing when creating a Pokémon game within the Pokémon world?
—Realism!
Only when players feel they have entered a real world can they truly immerse themselves in it. That's it!
Pokémon and NPCs aren't just data with mechanical responses; they're like living, breathing beings!
Games, though inherently virtual,
can make you forget that while you play, as if you've truly entered another world!
—That's the greatest charm of video games!
In his previous life, Ling Feng felt a certain regret for playing Pokémon handheld consoles.
He lamented not being able to truly interact and chat with his Pokémon friends, to experience their joys and sorrows, to live alongside them.
Even after being transported to the Pokémon world, he discovered that it is also quite realistic.
Not everyone has the opportunity to become a trainer, to travel with Pokémon, to reach the top.
This requires not only time and resources, but also courage and talent.
For ordinary people, even living in a city with a Pokémon is already a great achievement.
Many more people spend their entire lives in the same city, doing the same jobs, barely managing to meet their own needs and those of their families, let alone afford a Pokémon.
Although these people loved Pokémon as children, the pressures of life eventually wear them down, leaving them lost in the coldness of the city.
Therefore, every game Ling Feng creates from now on will give all Pokémon lovers a chance!
Perhaps it will be the chance to grow and battle alongside Pokémon, reaching the top of the world!
Or perhaps it will be the chance to live, connect, and become friends with Pokémon!
Or perhaps it will be the chance to travel with Pokémon and witness the wonders and diversity of the world!
He believed that each of these opportunities was like a spark.
One day, these sparks would ignite the entire world!
It would remind everyone of what they truly loved deep in their hearts!
(End of chapter)