Stephen rolled his eyes and didn't take Julian's laughter to heart.
"Alright, joke all you want. What's the emergency this time? Did you find a bug in the game?"
Julian smiled and shook his head gently. He had already prepared himself mentally, but seeing Stephen achieve so much success and display such immense talent at such a young age was still a bit humbling.
Fortunately, he didn't let it bother him. So what if the kid was a literal genius? At the end of the day, a genius still had to help him configure and code his games.
"It's not about the game," Julian explained. "The new version is running perfectly. The reason I called you over is because I need your help upgrading this little guy."
Julian raised his right hand, and with a soft hum, a smooth, pink-and-blue Porygon2 materialized, floating quietly right above his palm.
"Upgrade it? What do you mean?"
Stephen instantly recognized the virtual Pokémon, but Julian's request caught him off guard. More importantly, he stared at the floating creature in surprise. Wait, is this guy projecting an actual living, breathing organism right in front of me? I thought his Pathstrider ability was only supposed to project digital data onto screens. Has he been holding back his true strength this whole time?
Julian didn't notice the sudden shift in the boy's expression and kept talking. "Porygon is a virtual Pokémon made entirely of programming code. Inside a digital world, its data-breaching capabilities are practically broken. I want you to help enhance its skills in that specific area, so it can move completely unchecked through any system firewall."
Julian was planning this upgrade to prepare for his future trip to the mechanical planet, Amphoreus. Specifically, he was eyeing the legendary scepter hidden there, which possessed the unique power to turn digital data into real, living organisms.
Even if he managed to partner up with Ruan Mei later to clone authentic Pokémon, turning a player's exact virtual companion—with all its unique memories and years of bonding—into a real life-form was a completely different challenge. But if he could secure that scepter, he could directly extract a player's beloved pet straight from their save files into reality. That way, trainers wouldn't have to abandon the specific companions they had spent years raising inside the game.
To eventually breach the ancient supercomputer guarding that scepter, Julian needed a tool that could shatter any firewall the ancients had built. Porygon was the perfect candidate. Asking Stephen for an upgrade wasn't about teaching Porygon how to fight; it was about letting the digital creature adapt to different complex coding environments ahead of time.
"What exactly are you planning to do with a tool like that?" Stephen asked, trying to piece the logic together. He understood what Julian wanted, but he couldn't figure out the motive. "If you just need a world-class hacker to breach a database, Silver Wolf can already crack almost anything in the cosmos, right?"
"It's just a precaution for a project down the line," Julian replied smoothly. He obviously couldn't reveal his knowledge of future cosmic events.
Stephen realized Julian was keeping his cards close to his chest and wisely chose not to press further. Instead, he leaned in closer to inspect the floating creature. "Does this little guy function exactly the same way it does in the game?"
Stephen remembered the in-game lore perfectly. Porygon couldn't be caught in the tall grass; it was a rare asset given as a special gift by an NPC corporation. To unlock it, players had to clear a challenging hacking mini-game, controlling a Porygon to blast through incoming walls of defensive code until they successfully breached a computer terminal. If the real-world projection operated on those exact same rules, he was more than willing to study such a fascinating creature.
"Exactly the same," Julian nodded with a grin.
"Fine, I'll take on the project," Stephen said, crossing his arms. Then he shot Julian a curious look. "But looking at you now, it seems you can project complete, physical Pokémon into the room. Why didn't you call one down during our tournament battle?"
"We were playing inside a virtual reality tournament machine," Julian said, looking completely speechless. "How on earth was I supposed to manifest a physical creature inside a digital simulation? What were you thinking?"
"Right, I guess I was just distracted," Stephen mumbled, awkwardly turning his head before quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, how long can you maintain a physical projection like this? If you can hold it for hours, I'll have Asta move the project directly to Herta's private office. The diagnostic equipment inside her vaults is infinitely more advanced. But if your energy drains quickly and you need to stay close, we'll just have to make do with the basic tools in this laboratory."
"Don't worry about the timer," Julian reassured him, leaning back comfortably. "You know I walk the path of Elation. Since the IPC started promoting the game across the star-lanes, my Pathstrider energy has been overflowing. Forget about a tiny Porygon—I can call down a massive Legendary Pokémon and keep it anchored in reality for a very long time."
"Then hurry up and project a Rayquaza for me to see!"
The moment the words left Julian's mouth, Stephen's cool, genius attitude vanished completely. He took three fast steps forward, his eyes sparkling with pure excitement as he reached out to grab Julian's arm—though his fingers slipped right through since he was still using a digital projection.
It didn't matter how smart a person was; a giant, magnificent green dragon carried a fatal attraction for a boy. And Stephen, despite his universe-altering intellect, was still fundamentally a young boy.
"How am I supposed to call down a massive titan like Rayquaza inside a tight laboratory?" Julian laughed, holding up a palm. "The creature spans dozens of meters; it would flatten the room. I can only project it out in the open void of space. But I have one condition before I open the hatch."
"What's the condition? Just say it!" Stephen urged, his voice rising in anticipation. Even though he could clearly see that Julian was shamelessly using his excitement to get free labor out of him again, he didn't care at all. He just wanted to see the dragon. When he played through the third-generation beta, his favorite asset was Rayquaza, the legendary sovereign that could single-handedly suppress both Groudon and Kyogre. The mere thought of looking at that emerald leviathan in the real universe made his heart race.
"It's very simple," Julian smiled. "Help me get in touch with Madame Ruan Mei. I want to pitch a collaborative research project to her."
Stephen's eyes lit up even brighter. "You want Ruan Mei to help you create authentic, living Pokémon? That's perfect! Leave the introduction to me. Trust me, Ruan Mei won't be able to resist studying creatures that possess such magical biological traits."
The young genius immediately connected the dots. While he admired Julian's grand ambition, he was also incredibly thrilled for his own reasons. If Ruan Mei actually succeeded in decoding the genetic templates of Pokémon, he could study her notes and eventually learn how to build his own companions from scratch.
Stephen wasn't exaggerating about Ruan Mei's interest either. If Pokémon were just a flat digital video game, a master geneticist of her caliber might at most glance at the screen for a few minutes to find a spark of inspiration. But Julian was different; his unique abilities allowed him to bring these creatures into physical reality. Pokémon had transitioned from fiction into actual, breathing life-forms.
All Julian had to do was project a specimen inside her lab, allowing her instruments to harvest a few pristine genetic samples to unlock their life codes. Given her deep, unyielding obsession with the mysteries of creation, she would absolutely take the bait.
After Stephen firmly agreed to the deal, he stared intently at the developer, his eyes wide with a clear, silent demand: I cleared your terms, now show me the dragon.
Julian chuckled. With a light wave of his hand, a miniature, three-foot-long version of Rayquaza materialized in the air, coiling gracefully around his shoulders like a glowing green scarf.
"ROAR!"
At Julian's silent command, the tiny emerald dragon immediately flew forward, letting out a sharp, high-pitched roar right in Stephen's face.
The sudden blast caught the boy genius by surprise, forcing him to take a clumsy step back. But there wasn't a single trace of fear on his face—only pure awe and excitement.
A second later, his expression flattened into a dry, deeply unamused glare as he looked at the developer. The look in his eyes said everything: I asked to see a legendary, sky-splitting titan. What is the meaning of this toy version?
"Keep your focus on the deal," Julian laughed, tapping his console as the mini-dragon drifted back into code. "Once your office successfully coordinates the meeting with Ruan Mei, I'll unlatch the seals and show you the full-sized version out in the stars."
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