Bonus chapter - for reaching 1,000 power stones
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The next morning, Cerulean City.
When Kairos woke up in the morning, stretching and seeing the unfamiliar ceiling above his head, he couldn't help but feel a bit disoriented.
After a while, he suddenly remembered something—he had moved!
That old, cramped rental apartment was now a thing of the past.
He let out a long sigh of relief, got up from bed, and prepared to greet a beautiful new day.
However, at that moment, a series of notification alerts suddenly popped up before his eyes:
[Ding! Please note, host, important character "Lance" has broken through the shock threshold, his threshold level has been upgraded to lv2!]
Kairos: ??
Wait, buddy?
If I remember correctly, didn't you just start playing the game yesterday?
How did your threshold suddenly jump to level 2 today?
You have to understand that Iono started playing several days before Lance, and she still hasn't broken through to level 2 yet.
—What the heck is going on with Lance? Did he experience some kind of shock in the game?
Kairos thought deeply for a while but couldn't figure out what Lance had experienced in the game that could cause such a breakthrough.
But then he thought about it and felt relieved.
Whatever, Lance leveling up emotionally meant not only would he get rewards, but the emotional points he'd gain from him would also increase accordingly. This was definitely a good thing.
He looked at the notification that suddenly appeared before his eyes:
[Ding! Congratulations host, you have received a threshold upgrade reward: 1500 emotional points, random intermediate crafting module x1!]
Kairos didn't hesitate and directly picked up the card to use it.
The next moment, a brand new module appeared before his eyes.
[Ding! Congratulations host, you have obtained the new module "Cross-Platform" (Intermediate)]
[Description: With this module, all non-virtual reality games developed by the host can be deployed on mobile phones, computers, gaming consoles, and even smartwatches, without compatibility issues, ignoring device specifications to ensure smooth operation, and allowing free cross-platform multiplayer and data synchronization.]
Seeing these notifications, Kairos couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.
This module definitely wasn't top-tier among all intermediate modules, but it could still be considered quite decent.
After all, for a game, creating multi-platform clients and synchronizing data between platforms requires a massive amount of energy and time.
Many great games can only be played on computers due to device limitations.
But with this module, he wouldn't have to worry about such problems anymore.
Not only data synchronization and free cross-platform multiplayer.
Anyone who bought this game could play it anywhere, anytime, even during work breaks.
Heck, even on smartwatches, educational devices, or car entertainment systems—they could all run his games.
Of course, this current game really isn't suitable for slacking off at work...
Speaking of which, he felt this module wouldn't provide much improvement for "Pokémon Emerald" since it was already just a few hundred MB small game that didn't have high device requirements.
Well...
But honestly, the Emerald he was creating now really didn't look like what a small game should be.
This upgrade reward draw still left Kairos feeling somewhat disappointed.
After all, last time he drew a special module, and he could tell at a glance that special modules had stronger effects than regular modules while providing additional point value bonuses...
And according to the system, these modules couldn't be purchased directly—they could only be obtained through draws.
He wondered what the exact probability of getting special modules was.
Lost in thought, Kairos pushed open his door, quickly freshened up, and came to the living room, greeting Litwick who was already eating breakfast at the dining table.
"Good morning, Litwick. How was your night?"
"Lit-wick lit-wick!"
Litwick didn't even look up as it wolfed down the food in its bowl. Whether it was Kairos's imagination or not, he felt like Litwick seemed somewhat tired.
However, Kairos didn't pay much attention to this.
—Probably because after moving to the new house, it was so curious about everything around that it played all night and got tired.
Young Pokémon were all like this. When they grew up, they wouldn't be so playful. Kairos didn't plan to interfere, letting it be.
He stuffed the sandwich the housekeeper had prepared into his mouth and casually turned on the living room's TV projection.
The current channel happened to be a news station, and at that moment, a female anchor was sitting upright in front of the screen, reporting breaking news.
"This reporter brings you breaking news: last night, a major incident occurred in the Kanto region as law enforcement officials raided and destroyed a massive hideout belonging to the criminal organization Team Rocket!"
Kairos was immediately stunned.
Team Rocket?
He looked up and saw that as the female anchor reported, corresponding footage appeared in the upper right corner of the screen.
—It appeared to be a huge game arcade, the scene was chaotic, smoke everywhere, various machines destroyed and scattered on the ground. Clearly, this place had just experienced a major battle.
Groups of people wearing Team Rocket uniforms were being escorted out by official League enforcement officers. Following behind them were numerous Pokémon trapped in iron cages, along with various strange equipment and instruments.
The female anchor's introduction continued:
"Who would have thought that Celadon City's largest electronic entertainment center actually concealed a massive underground base. The League dispatched numerous enforcement officers that night to clear it out, arresting a total of 135 Team Rocket members and confiscating over 100 pieces of illegal research equipment."
"According to League reports, many Pokémon that had been captured and were being used for illegal experiments were also discovered in this underground base."
"The League will severely crack down on such behavior according to law, treat these Pokémon's injuries, and find them suitable homes, ensuring every Pokémon can enjoy their rightful survival rights."
"Currently, the registered company of this electronic entertainment center has been sealed by the League. This reporter will continue to follow up on this story."
"Next, we report another piece of news. According to the latest discovery by the Astronomical Research Department, in one month, a red meteor shower may pass close to our planet..."
Seeing this, Kairos froze on the sofa, seeming to realize something.
Combined with this morning's notification about Lance's shock threshold upgrade...
Lance couldn't have played his game last night, discovered Team Rocket had a secret base hidden in the game arcade in Mauville City, and then sent people to search the Kanto region overnight, right?
And they actually found it??
No wonder Lance's emotional fluctuation was big enough to break through the threshold...
As a League undercover investigator, he suddenly learned from a game that the world's largest criminal organization had hidden their secret base in a game arcade... then went to investigate following that lead, and actually discovered it was real...
It would be really hard to keep emotions stable, right?
Kairos was somewhat speechless, his expression complex.
This was naturally good news for the League, but for Giovanni, this was simply "an undeserved disaster."
Whatever, not my problem. I'm just a game developer.
Anyway, in the end... even if they investigated, it wouldn't trace back to him.
Besides, Team Rocket's unconscionable behavior of conducting live experiments on Pokémon should have been stopped anyway.
Thinking of this, an important thought suddenly flashed through Kairos's mind.
Pokémon experiments...?
Right...
The world he had transmigrated to was essentially a parallel world.
Many things and characters were exactly the same as the original work, yet many things were different from the original.
For example, legendary Pokémon hadn't appeared for hundreds of years, and the number of trainers wasn't as numerous as in the original work...
So...
What would be the situation with the only artificial legendary Pokémon, one of the combat ceiling powerhouses "Mewtwo"?
In the "Ultimate Emerald" storyline, the secret base beneath Mauville City's game arcade was exactly what Team Rocket used to research and create "Mewtwo."
And in the original work, Mewtwo was also a special Pokémon artificially created by Team Rocket's insane project, possessing Mew's genes while having completely different powerful combat abilities.
It could even be ranked among the "first-tier legendaries"!
So...
Had Team Rocket already started creating Mewtwo...
Or did they not have such a plan...
Or had they already completed Mewtwo's creation?
Kairos fell into deep thought.
If it was the second possibility, that would be fine...
But if it was the first or third possibility, that could be quite troublesome...
After being created by Team Rocket, this legendary Pokémon Mewtwo initially had no autonomous consciousness and was always used by Team Rocket as a tool.
It wasn't until later, through a series of coincidences, that it gradually awakened its own consciousness and successfully escaped Team Rocket's control, becoming a free individual.
But in this world, Kairos couldn't be sure that if Team Rocket really had developed Mewtwo, things would unfold like they did in the original storyline.
If in this world where the strongest trainers could only reach Champion level and legendary Pokémon had disappeared without a trace, Team Rocket completely controlled Mewtwo's power and kept it firmly in their possession...
Kairos didn't even dare think too much about what might happen.
But then again, he was just an ordinary person who made games. Even if he wanted to get involved in such matters, there was no way.
However, he could use the game to try to reveal more information about Mewtwo in the upcoming storyline.
He believed that after seeing this information, whether it was Cynthia, Lance, or other Gym Leaders and Elite Four members, they would all take action in the real world...
—Just like Lance going to destroy Team Rocket's secret hideout this time.
With this thought, Kairos shook his head slightly, feeling somewhat more relaxed.
But at the same time, he also realized a new problem.
Since Mewtwo's situation in this world was unclear, what about other characters from the original work?
Did characters like Ash and Misty exist?
He'd have to explore this later himself.
If Ash existed, he'd definitely have to meet this old friend no matter what.
And maybe warn him to be careful during the finals about potentially facing a Mega Charizard with the Water Absorb ability when using Greninja...
However, one thing that was currently clear about the world he was in: the Pokémon regions in this world weren't complete.
Some regions' Pokémon had already appeared, but the corresponding regions didn't exist.
For example, the Glimmora from before was a Pokémon unique to the Paldea region, yet this world only had four regions: Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kanto, and Unova...
If you really had to count, there was also Iono's Paldea region, but its area was very small, far from being as vast as in the original work, like a truncated version...
As for places like the Alola region and Kalos region, they were even worse off—they simply didn't exist at all.
But for Kairos, this was obviously a good thing, because in future games, he could better present these regions to players!
So the next game... should it be "Scarlet and Violet" based on the Paldea region, or "Sun and Moon" based on the Alola region?
Just as Kairos was pondering, he suddenly felt a chill coming from behind him!
Kairos instinctively whipped around, but found nothing behind him.
"...Was it just my imagination?"
He scratched the back of his head.
In that instant, besides the chill, Kairos had the distinct feeling that something was watching him from behind...
But thinking about it, it was broad daylight, his villa was surrounded by security guards.
Plus his identity was protected by the system and was completely classified. He didn't need to worry about anyone coming to find him...
Kairos relaxed and got up to walk toward the bedroom.
However, what he didn't know was...
Shortly after he left.
A shadow quietly appeared at the living room window, crimson eyes peering in the direction where Kairos had just departed, and after a moment, it disappeared back into thin air.
Sinnoh Region.
After challenging the gym yesterday, Cynthia didn't continue toward Lavaridge Town, but ended her livestream and went out.
As a Champion, even when the League didn't assign her special missions, there were still daily affairs that required her time to handle.
Fortunately, the next day, she was lucky enough not to receive any special assignments and had a full day to play Emerald again.
She skillfully logged into the game, opened her stream, greeted the chat, and Cynthia's character reappeared at the entrance of Mauville Gym.
Following Wattson's instructions, she went to the room next to the gym, had Bewear successfully learn Rock Smash, used this move to break through the two blocking rocks, and continued heading north from Mauville City.
Not long after walking, her screen went black.
A new cutscene was triggered.
In the cutscene was a vast, boundless desert with fierce sandstorms raging.
In the desert, Trapinch shook their heads, searching for today's lunch.
Cacnea took root in the sand, desperately absorbing the last traces of moisture from the earth.
Cynthia could even see several skulls of unknown creatures scattered throughout the desert, blown away by gusts of wind...
Such exquisite and realistic imagery made her feel as if she were truly standing in a desert.
The cutscene ended, and the entrance to that desert naturally appeared before her.
But when Cynthia tried to control her character to enter and explore, her character was blown back by howling winds.
A game prompt also appeared:
[The sandstorm here is too intense! Cannot enter for now!]
Cynthia could only feel somewhat regretful and continue heading left.
Honestly, she was quite interested in such a desert.
Because often in such remote places, there would be many ancient artifacts and ruins!
Next, after defeating several tough NPCs, she climbed to the foot of Mt. Chimney and learned from passersby that to go up the mountain, she could only take the cable car nearby.
But the cable car entrance was blocked by two NPCs wearing red hats.
This time, through the logos on their clothing, Cynthia immediately recognized their identity.
These were members of "Team Magma," another major criminal organization in the Hoenn region!
Unlike Team Aqua, their methods were quite high-profile, with members often committing robberies and thefts in broad daylight.
Therefore, Hoenn's League enforcement organizations had launched large-scale crackdowns against them more than once.
Fortunately, in recent years, this organization's illegal activities had also decreased, and like Team Aqua, they had gone silent.
Looking at the two people before her, Cynthia couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
She already knew about Lance using game content to find Team Rocket's secret base in the Kanto region last night.
This was definitely not a coincidence, but the game actually providing accurate clues about villainous organizations.
If that was the case...
The matter about "Archie" should also be true!
So, what about this Team Magma?
Could they, like Team Aqua, also have some earth-shattering plan?
Cynthia suppressed her emotions and controlled her character to approach and try talking to those two NPCs, wanting to see if she could get some information from them.
However, those two immediately drove her away without saying a word.
"Where'd this little kid come from? The boss said no one's allowed through here. Don't bother us!"
"That's right, you can't get through until they return from Meteor Falls!"
Seeing these two lines of dialogue.
Cynthia understood that this was probably like before—she'd need to trigger some storyline to get through.
And this Meteor Falls... according to the map, she'd need to go through the cave nearby to reach the next city, Fallarbor Town, then travel a good distance south to arrive there.
So she turned and entered the cave nearby.
This cave was called "Fiery Path," with extremely high internal temperatures and steam visible everywhere.
The Pokémon living here were mostly Fire-types, like "Torkoal," "Rapidash," and "Magmar."
With Ludicolo's Bubble Beam for type advantage, Cynthia successfully passed through the cave with almost no pressure.
But just as she exited the cave, someone immediately approached her.
It was a young man with a strange hairstyle that covered half his face.
He had green pupils and appeared to be about the same age as Cynthia's character.
Upon meeting, he spoke first, his tone cheerful:
"Hey, hello there. Nice to meet you. I'd like to ask you a question."
"Do you know about Ultra Space?"
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones