In just one week, Silver Wolf had finalized the core architecture for three separate gameplay modes. Julian Reed had hoped to push the "Start" button immediately, but the art department hit a massive bottleneck.
It wasn't a lack of effort. The Kanto region alone boasted 151 species, and Julian refused to let them be static sprites. Every Pokémon needed a unique skeleton, a library of movements, and distinct reaction sets. Even with evolutionary lines sharing some DNA, the workload was staggering.
Julian was forced to go back to the Sky-Faring Commission, requesting a fresh batch of kinetic specialists and animal behaviorists from the Artisanship Commission. Only with their help did the project finally cross the finish line after another grueling half-month.
"It's finally stable," Julian said, rubbing his eyes as he looked at the final build. Silver Wolf had scrubbed the last of the bugs, leaving only the art assets to be slotted in. "Time to open the floodgates. We'll start the first wave of testing on the Luofu."
By now, the Pokémon anime was a cultural juggernaut. On screens across the ship, Ash Ketchum had already battled his way through the Gyms of Cerulean, Vermilion, and Saffron. The audience had fallen for the Squirtle Squad, wept over the abandoned Charmander, and cheered during the Ponyta races. Even the bumbling Team Rocket had developed a cult following.
Tonight was the climax of the Cinnabar Gym arc—the perfect moment to drop the game's first official advertisement.
In a cozy livestream setup, Guinaifen was preparing for her nightly broadcast. What had started as a platform-mandated task had turned into a genuine obsession. Tonight, she had even dragged her best friend, Sushang, into the frame. Sushang had originally joined for the "Phoenix-like" Ho-Oh, but she'd stayed for the adorable monsters.
The episode ended with Ash and his newly-evolved Charizard defeating Magmar. Ash beamed, thinking his dragon had finally learned to listen, only for Charizard to blow a face-full of fire at him the moment the battle ended.
"Haha! Ash really thought he had it!" Guinaifen laughed, leaning into her mic as the chat scrolled by.
"Charizard is such a jerk! Ash saved his life!"
"He's just got that 'alpha' personality. Reminds me of my cat."
"When can we actually play this? I'm tired of just watching!"
Guinaifen's grin widened. "Well, viewers, today is your lucky day! Thanks to your support, I've been granted access to the Pokémon closed beta. Today, we're going to see if this world is as good as it looks!"
The chat erupted.
"Wait, already? It's going to be total shovelware, isn't it?"
"Too fast. No way a small studio like 'Arceus' made something decent in a month."
"Actually," Guinaifen corrected, reading from her briefing notes, "the game started production long before the anime premiered. The show was just the appetizer. And get this—there aren't just one, but three different versions."
She pointed to the download links:
Pokémon (Mobile: Turn-Based Strategy)Pokémon (PC: Action-Adventure)Pokémon (Full Dive: Virtual Reality/Holographic)
"This isn't a lazy multi-platform port," Guinaifen explained, her excitement genuine. "They're entirely different gameplay styles. Since my setup is limited, Sushang and I will show you the Mobile and PC versions tonight!"
"Three versions? They're lying."
"If this is true, Arceus Studio just became my favorite developer."
"Show us the VR version! I want to actually touch a Bulbasaur!"
Guinaifen sighed. "I wish. The 'Real' version apparently recreates the entire anime world. You give verbal commands, you explore, you interact... but the hardware requirements are insane. Maybe if we get enough likes, the studio will let us try a rig!"
Skeptical comments flooded the screen. Virtual reality games were notoriously expensive to produce; even the IPC only released a few a year. The idea of a newcomer like Julian Reed pulling it off seemed like a fairy tale.
Julian, watching the stream from his dorm, knew they were right to be skeptical. Half of his hundred-million Credit budget had gone into the VR version alone. Without the "sponsored" tech from the Xianzhou, he would have needed a billion.
He hadn't forgotten his roots, either. He'd sent a private batch of beta keys to Qingque.
"I can't believe the Master Diviner is into this show too," Qingque muttered back at her own quarters, clutching her Jade Abacus. She'd managed to secure "educational leave" from Fu Xuan just by mentioning the Pokémon project. "I'm going to catch a Meowth first thing. It'll be my lucky charm for the next tile game. I'll be unstoppable! Hehehe..."
Back on stream, Guinaifen and Sushang hit the "Start" button simultaneously. Guinaifen linked Sushang's mobile screen to the broadcast, giving the galaxy a side-by-side look at the two very different worlds Julian had built.
"Alright, fans," Guinaifen shouted. "Let's go catch 'em all!"