But getting back to the point, while this was definitely an interesting development, it was clear that the current state of the game wouldn't allow Kairos to add this mirror battle module right away.
If the mirror copied the player's in-game team composition, they were still in the early-to-mid stages of the game where team setups weren't fully developed. Most people couldn't even scrape together six Pokémon yet, so even if the mirror copied their teams for battles, it wouldn't be much fun.
They'd definitely need to wait until players had more complete and complex team configurations, reaching a certain level where this kind of mirror challenge would actually mean something.
And if this challenge copied the player's real-world skill level, well, that goes without saying - it'd be even more pointless.
Take Cynthia, for example. Her current team's overall strength was probably just barely over level 40. If the game copied her real-world level, even just her single Garchomp alone could probably crush her in-game team without breaking a sweat. There'd be no point in even trying.
So this feature would have to be delayed, but thinking about it, Kairos realized there was another issue. If they enabled battles based on real-world trainer strength, some players didn't even have a single Pokémon in the real world. They'd naturally be able to breeze through the reality mirror challenge without any pressure.
If they were going to set up a reward system for this kind of mirror challenge, the reality mirror challenge would need some kind of threshold.
But considering the module's capabilities, since it could already read players' real-world strength, pulling this off probably wouldn't be too difficult either.
With that thought, Kairos shook his head slightly and stretched.
He'd been ready to call it a night, but these reward modules had gotten him all fired up.
Since that was the case, he'd make an exception and put in some overtime tonight, working on the game a bit longer.
Speaking of which, the upcoming game content was going to be absolutely massive.
After the 6th gym - the Flying-type gym - the next city was called Lilycove City. While it didn't have a gym, it was the largest and most central city in the entire Hoenn region, with incredibly rich surrounding content.
Like that massive volcano containing a tower filled with Ghost-type Pokémon - Mt. Pyre.
Or the Safari Zone on the left side of Slateport City's routes, where you could catch tons of wild Pokémon. In the original games, these were pretty important locations.
Mt. Pyre especially involved crucial plot points where Team Magma and Team Aqua fought over the Red Orb and Blue Orb.
As for Ultimate Emerald, this storyline seemed to have some changes, but since it'd been ages since he last played it, Kairos couldn't quite remember the specifics.
Not that he planned to copy it directly anyway.
"More work to do, huh..." Kairos sighed as he sat at his computer desk, then glanced over toward Gengar's direction.
He wondered when Gengar might learn how to help with game development. If he could lend a hand, things would probably be a lot easier.
Though that request did sound like a pretty tall order for a ghost.
But with that clever mind of his, maybe he could actually pull it off?
After putting in several hours of overtime working on the content around Lilycove City, an exhausted Kairos collapsed into bed and fell asleep instantly.
As night deepened and all grew quiet, in that darkness a pair of crimson eyes suddenly opened beside Kairos's bed - it was Gengar.
He glanced at Kairos sleeping peacefully on the bed, then looked over at the Chandelure on the windowsill, eyes closed in equally peaceful slumber, before carefully rising from his cushion.
If he wanted to escape, this was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity.
Leave this place and he wouldn't have to follow this human's orders anymore - he could continue exploring the outside world.
A flash of determination crossed Gengar's eyes as he quietly got up and drifted toward the wall.
As a Ghost-type Pokémon, he could easily phase through solid objects, walls included.
But the moment he approached the wall, he glanced back at Kairos sleeping on the bed, and his movements suddenly stopped.
The words from earlier that day echoed again in Gengar's mind.
"Since you've joined us, we're family now. You don't have to sleep in your Poké Ball - sleep wherever you want."
"If you want to sleep with me, that's fine too. The bed's plenty big, but your body temperature's pretty cold, so try not to wake me up, okay?"
"Oh? You like this too? Just tell me when you're hungry - eat as much as you want, I've got plenty."
Along with those words, that strange feeling rose again in Gengar's heart, making him shake his head repeatedly, trying to dispel the sensation.
Damn it, freedom was what mattered most! Those old ghosts had always said that once you fell into human hands, your life was finished!
He'd finally escaped from that awful place and still had a vast world to explore. How could he just settle down here and live with some human?
But... why did this human feel so different from what he'd imagined?
Maybe living with him... wouldn't be such a terrible thing after all?
Gengar took one long look in Kairos's direction, his form hovering silently by the wall, as if making some final decision in his heart.
...
The next morning, Iono woke up bright and early.
She got out of bed and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
Obviously she hadn't slept well last night - the impact of what had happened before she went to sleep was just too overwhelming. Even now, she felt like she was living in some kind of dream.
Waking up and remembering what happened, her heart was still racing.
A game reward that actually showed up in real life?
Not even those web novels would write something like that!
Speaking of which, after getting that Thunder Stone and Rare Candy gift box last night, Iono had originally wanted to contact Cynthia. When she realized she didn't have her contact info, she'd planned to log into the game and message her through there.
But the moment she turned on her computer, Cynthia called her directly.
During that phone call, Cynthia confirmed that she'd also received rewards from the game just like Iono, and had even tried using the Rare Candy box.
Cynthia didn't go into the specifics, but she warned Iono not to rush into using anything that appeared from the game until they could confirm it was all safe - whether it was the candy box or the Thunder Stone.
Beyond that, Cynthia also stressed that they shouldn't tell anyone about this for now.
Iono could totally understand why Cynthia emphasized that point.
After all, when she'd watched those leaderboard rewards appear right before her eyes, she'd nearly fainted from shock. If this happened in front of regular players, it would probably cause massive chaos across the entire world!
But still...
Iono's gaze fell on the gift box and Thunder Stone sitting on her desk, and she couldn't look away.
Originally, her attitude toward this game had been purely viewing it as a charming virtual world.
Like that Pokémon called Zeraora, and all those so-called "legendary Pokémon" - Iono hadn't taken them seriously. It was just that the game's presentation was so realistic that she'd gotten completely absorbed while playing.
But now... even the in-game leaderboard rewards were "real drops"!
Didn't that mean everything inside the game could be real too?
That would naturally include the Zeraora she'd been chasing.
At this thought, Iono's eyes immediately lit up, bursting with excitement.
While this game could apparently send rewards into the real world, she still didn't think the Pokémon she caught in-game could become real-world creatures - having those items and rewards appear was already pushing the limits of what she could understand and accept.
But this way, all the intel she'd gathered about that Zeraora in the game would be real too!
That meant she could use this information to search for this Pokémon in the real world - maybe she'd actually have a chance to encounter it for real!
With this realization, Iono didn't hesitate to fire up her computer again, her expression focused. No matter what, she was definitely going to the Power Plant today to meet that guy!
As she started up the game, she naturally opened her stream as well, following her usual routine.
Iono's stream was already hugely popular, and ever since she'd started streaming Pokémon Emerald, her follower count had been climbing steadily. Clearly plenty of people had seen clips of her gameplay online and come to check her out.
Her original 3+ million followers had grown by over a million more in less than a week!
The moment her stream went live, her hardcore fans and newcomers immediately flocked in, with chat messages constantly scrolling across the screen.
[Streamer's so dedicated, going live this early! You can tell you really love playing this game]
[Yeah seriously, you were up so late last night you started hallucinating. Maybe take a day off? The game's fun and all, but your health matters too.]
[Get out of here with that - I'm still waiting for the streamer to beat this gym and go to the Power Plant to meet that awesome Pokémon]
As the chat went crazy, Iono noticed some viewers starting to ask about the in-game progress leaderboard rewards.
[Streamer, aren't you 2nd place on the progress board? The game rankings closed yesterday - what rewards did you get? Show us!]
[Yeah, what's in that Rare Candy gift box? How many candies?]
[This game's so stingy - with all these players, they only give rewards to the top 3 on the leaderboard? Are they trying to kill us with competition?]
[Don't worry, I heard next week when rankings close, they'll give rewards to more people.]
Seeing these chat discussions, Iono was instinctively startled, then immediately realized what was happening.
Right - they were talking about the virtual in-game items, not those real-world rewards that had suddenly appeared.
After all, none of these stream viewers knew that this game's rewards weren't virtual data, but actual physical items.
Even so, Iono couldn't help feeling guilty. Lying had never been her strong suit, and since she'd promised Cynthia, she definitely couldn't spill the beans about what really happened.
But pretending not to see these messages would be pretty hard to pull off too.
So what now?
Just as Iono was feeling conflicted, she caught sight of a notification box that had appeared in the game's upper right corner.
[Dear player "ElectricSupremacy": Last week's progress leaderboard has been calculated. You have received "Rare Candy Gift Box (Intermediate) x1" and "High-Quality Thunder Stone x1". Items have been placed in your game bag. Enjoy your game!]
Seeing this message, Iono felt like she'd been saved. So the game gave out rewards in both places - not just in reality, but corresponding items in the game too!
She immediately opened her bag to check and found two special new items had indeed appeared.
The high-quality Thunder Stone spoke for itself, while the Rare Candy gift box's description showed that opening it would give 5 intermediate Rare Candies.
[This item looks familiar somehow! Streamer, try it out and see what it does!]
[Yeah, let's see what leaderboard rewards are all about!]
[Streamer, I'll pay you ₽10,000 bucks to mail me that Thunder Stone, deal?]
Urged on by the chat, Iono used the gift box and fed one candy to her team's currently strongest Pokémon - her fully evolved Ampharos that had reached level 33.
To her surprise, that single Rare Candy shot Ampharos straight up to the current level cap of 40!
This incredible effect not only made Iono's eyes widen - the stream viewers were shocked too.
[Holy crap, one candy for 7 whole levels?! If you use all 5, wouldn't that guarantee level 60?!]
[You idiot, don't forget about the level cap, and each level-up requires more EXP. Even using all 5 would probably only get you to level 50 max.]
[Even so, that's still insane for a leaderboard reward... Damn, if I'd tried harder and gotten into this game earlier, maybe I could've snagged 3rd place! That's it, I'm grinding the rankings too!]
[Streamer, since you've got 5 candies, why not give one to each of your Pokémon? Get them all to the level cap before taking on the gym - you've got exactly 5 Pokémon right now anyway.]
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones