Squirtle lunged forward. Just as in the tutorial, it tilted its head back, the blue light of a Water Gun indicator painting a danger zone on the ground.
Guinaifen didn't blink. Having seen the demonstration, she slammed the dodge key the instant the indicator pulsed. The jet of water sliced through the air exactly where Charmander had been standing a millisecond prior.
"Counter-time!" Guinaifen shouted, her fingers flying.
She unleashed an Ember. The small bursts of flame pelted Squirtle, who stood in its post-attack recovery frames. The damage was meager—Fire against Water was a losing battle—and the turtle simply patted out the sparks with a bored expression.
"You're too far away, Gui!" Sushang yelled from the side. "Don't waste the window on weak flames. Get in there!"
"I'm working on it!"
Guinaifen lunged. She closed the distance, her mouse-hand steady as she tracked Squirtle's panicked attempt to roll away. In the PC version, the closer you were, the smaller the dodge window became. Guinaifen anticipated the direction, turned her camera sharply, and landed a Scratch right in the middle of Squirtle's recovery.
The screen shuddered. A 'Critical Hit' banner flashed in gold.
"Ugh!"
The Squirtle cried out and collapsed, its eyes turning into swirls.
"I won? That was it?" Guinaifen blinked, the adrenaline still pumping. "Did I just one-shot a starter?"
"Guinaifen, you're actually a genius!" Sushang cheered.
"Haha! Of course! I'm a natural-born action pro!"
The chat was less convinced. "It's a scripted beginner battle, Gui. Relax.""I can't stand her smug face. Someone send a Gym Leader to humble her.""Both modes look incredible. The impact on that crit felt heavy.""@Arceus, just take my Credits and let me play!"
"Beginner battle? Did you see Sushang get wrecked by a turn-based menu?" Guinaifen retorted, sticking her tongue out at the camera. "This proves I have the superior hands!"
"Are you mocking me?!" Sushang lunged, putting Guinaifen into a playful headlock until the streamer begged for mercy.
Once the chaos subsided, they moved into the tall grass of Route 1. Julian had tweaked the encounter system—unlike the invisible 'random encounters' of his old world, the Pokémon here were visible in the overworld. If you got too close, they'd notice you.
Sushang, on her mobile version, found a Nidoran♂. After a careful battle of attrition, she clicked the Poké Ball icon. The ball wiggled three times and clicked.
"I caught one! Look at his little ears!" Sushang beamed.
"Okay, my turn," Guinaifen muttered, focusing on her PC screen. Two purple silhouettes scurried out from a bush.
[Warning: Avoid attracting multiple Pokémon simultaneously or you will be swarmed.]
"Wait, what?"
Before she could react, two Rattata lunged. Guinaifen panicked. She managed to knock one away with a Tackle, but the second one caught her Charmander in the side. The screen faded to black, and she was teleported back to Professor Oak's lab to heal.
"That's cheating!" Guinaifen yelled at her monitor. "Two on one? What kind of designer puts that in the first area?"
"Hahaha, classic Gui.""Charmander looks so disappointed in you right now.""She actually ran into them. Her 'pro' status has been revoked."
"It was a fluke! Watch me encore!"
She charged back to the same spot. The two Rattata were there again. She engaged, dodging and weaving with much better focus this time. She took down the first one. She had the second one cornered.
Suddenly, a third Rattata darted out from the grass, biting Charmander's tail.
"No! Where did the third one come from?!"
She fought like a demon, sweating as she dodged three simultaneous lines of sight. She took down two. She was one hit away from victory—but her stamina bar hit zero. The final Rattata landed a decisive Tackle.
"I hate this game!" Guinaifen screamed, though her eyes were sparkling with frustrated joy.
"Guinaifen vs. The Rattata Squad: Round 2 goes to the rats.""The AI is actually smart. They flank her!""Gui, give me your account. I can't watch this anymore."
The love-hate relationship between the streamer and the purple rodents was pure gold for the metrics. Julian, watching from his room, saw the 'Want to Play' sentiment hitting record highs.
"Alright, alright!" Guinaifen shouted, noticing her viewer count peaking. "I know you all want in. The studio gave me ten beta keys to give away to the fans. Type 'POKEMON' in the chat to enter the lottery! One minute starts now!"
Across the galaxy, from the Luofu to the Herta Space Station, thousands of fingers began to type. The Arceus revolution had truly begun.