Chapter 67: The Production of a New Game
A big question mark appeared over Lu Ye's head.
Lu Ye: "?"
"Did we have some sort of misunderstanding? Wouldn't it be simpler to just give me cash? Why insist on giving me a Pokémon? And it's supposed to be a top-tier one too?"
Unable to help himself, Lu Ye turned around and glanced at Haunter, who was lifting dumbbells, and Eevee, who was running on a treadmill. Just thinking about the possibility of getting another Pokémon that might stab him in the back sent a shiver down Lu Ye's spine.
"Thanks... I guess?"
Zhai Wenyao laughed heartily, "No need to be polite with me!"
According to Coach Zhai, the primary duties of a teaching assistant were to help with selecting and training new students. During summer break, the workload was pretty light; you just needed to show up at the school occasionally.
This kind of paid vacation job was perfect for an old slacker like Lu Ye. But the thought of possibly having another Pokémon gave Lu Ye mixed feelings.
He sighed and hung up the phone.
After petting Eevee for a while, time flew by.
Lunch was Pokéblocks.
Eevee and Haunter stared at each other with big, round eyes, tilting their heads in sync.
"What are you looking at?"
Lu Ye chewed on a pale pink Pecha Berry Block. "Can't I eat this stuff too?"
Lu Ye had always been curious about what Pokéblocks tasted like. In the anime, the super rookie Ash Ketchum had also eaten Pokéblocks. If Ash could eat them, why couldn't Teacher Lu?
Logically, some Berries were edible for humans, so concentrated Pokéblocks should be as well. Of course, Lu Ye wouldn't dare try a Dragonfruit Block, but a sweet Pecha Berry Block was worth a shot.
It was surprisingly tasty, sweeter than freshly squeezed peach juice. It would probably be even better chilled.
Lu Ye's expression turned odd. "It's... actually pretty good."
Both Pokémon were dumbfounded.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Haunter's mind. Tears welled up in its eyes as it looked down.
To save on food costs, the master was even eating Pokéblocks now...
"I need to work harder and get more side gigs to help out!"
Haunter: o(╥﹏╥)o
Eevee's expression grew just as serious.
The little guy nodded firmly.
Determined, it decided to train even farther away that night!
In the afternoon, with a determined look, Haunter silently floated toward the door, giving Lu Ye a solemn wave.
Lu Ye waved back, curious. "Where are you off to now?"
"Gengarrr!" Haunter phased through the door.
"Be back for dinner!" Lu Ye called out.
"Gengarrr!" came the reply from outside.
Lu Ye wasn't worried about Haunter getting lost. He knew exactly what it was up to, but sometimes it's better to let them train than to stop them.
The day they get tired of training will be the day Teacher Lu's plan finally succeeds!
"I'm really going all out here!" Lu Ye sighed. "Let's earn some more BP and get it a Dusk Stone!"
Haunter had been eyeing a Dusk Stone for a long time, but the 5000 BP price tag was steep. Since he promised Haunter, Lu Ye wanted to fulfill that wish as soon as possible.
Besides earning BP, Teacher Lu planned to use the summer break to kick off his money-making ventures. He'd saved up ¥100,000 as startup capital—not much, but enough to get started.
…
This time, Lu Ye wasn't copying videos or using dirty tactics. He planned to leverage his Programming Lv3 skill.
From his own experiments, making an indie game wasn't too difficult with this skill. Plus, in this parallel world, many popular games hadn't been developed yet. It was the perfect entry point.
Grabbing Eevee by the scruff, he sat down at his computer. After so many times, the little guy no longer resisted.
Do whatever you want; it doesn't care anymore.
Eevee: o(´^｀)o
Ruffling Eevee's fluffy head, Lu Ye started a new project plan.
"Bui?"
Eevee looked up, its shiny black eyes filled with curiosity.
"Ah, not a stream this time. I'm making a game."
"Bui..."
Bored, Eevee scratched its head, lost interest, and jumped off Lu Ye's lap to practice Substitute next door.
Unlike Haunter, Eevee's Substitute had a worse temper than the original. It was like a Purrloin scratching its own face while playing with a ball of yarn.
"Bui!"
Eevee gritted its teeth and tangled with its Substitute.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was in his room, headphones on, unaware of the chaos outside. He was fully absorbed in planning his new game: Plants vs. Zombies.
This tower defense game was a global phenomenon; no need to elaborate on its success. The key was that it wasn't hard or expensive to make. Its creativity and gameplay were what made it a hit.
With limited funds, Lu Ye could handle the basic framework with Programming Lv3. Plus, the concept was a perfect fit for the Pokémon world.
Typing into his document, he wrote:
"The apocalypse is here—wandering ghosts, swarming bugs, devouring beasts... The only thing that can protect your life and your backyard is your trusted Grass-type Pokémon."
"Dave, your neighbor and a legendary Grass-type master, will be your most reliable ally and partner as you fight off the invading Pokémon..."
Lu Ye paused.
"This backstory... feels just right!"
Using free art assets from the Pokémon community would save costs and boost immersion. Lu Ye muttered, "Replace Sunflowers with Sunkern... No problem."
"Evolution into Sunflora... huh? That's basically Twin Sunflowers!"
His initial draft surprised him; the two IPs seemed to mesh perfectly.
Replace the classic Peashooter with Bellsprout.
The sturdy Wall-nut with Seedot using Bide.
Night maps, water maps—Foongus, Lotad, and more were a perfect fit.
Zombie types? Easy. Duskull, Cofagrigus, Spiritomb...
And villains weren't limited to Ghost-types. Beedrill, Grimer—all classic antagonists.
Before he knew it, Lu Ye had typed nearly 10,000 words. He stretched, exhausted.
"No way I can finish this in one summer."
Estimating the workload, he mumbled, "I need to start a studio and find some help."
The first person who came to mind was the balding Liang Dayou.
"Yeah... Dayou should be perfect. It's settled!"