That's right!
A Pokémon game!
Trainer? No—game developer!
Making games was pure, unfiltered profit.
A massive audience, lightning-fast spread, naturally tied to Pokémon, and capable of generating large-scale positive feedback.
Most importantly, making games had always been his childhood dream…
As long as the game was good enough, it would practically pull money straight out of players' pockets—and grab Battle Points straight from the system's reward pool!
Two birds with one stone.
A double win—he wins twice.
Even though he had never developed a Pokémon game before, he was standing on the shoulders of giants.
What kinds of games were fun? What players wanted?
He knew it all.
Games had practically run through his entire childhood.
Besides, when it came to the depth and breadth of Pokémon knowledge, he was extremely confident.
Back when he tinkered with bootleg Pokémon cards, he had practically memorized the official Pokémon setting guides. During the time he spent transmigrated in that other world, he filled in every last gap in his knowledge through real combat experience.
The only real difficulty was—
How could he perfectly combine game design with Pokémon, so that people would be willing—no, eager—to spend money while continuously generating positive feedback?
The Pokémon series…
A glint flashed through Rei Akagi's eyes.
I refuse to believe that turning the legendary Trainers' adventures into a game wouldn't attract players.
Take Red, for example.
According to League regulations, the minimum age for Trainers to begin traveling is sixteen.
Red began his journey at sixteen. Alone, he defeated Giovanni, the final boss of Team Rocket, and forced the organization to disband. Within a year, he rose to become the Champion of the Kanto League.
And he didn't stop there.
After stepping down as Champion, he retreated to the summit of Mt. Silver to continue training. Later, he also played a key role in resolving several crises in the Johto region, eventually becoming a legend.
Forget making a game—even just using that title as marketing would have people lining up to buy it.
Besides, judging by the current timeline, the story of the second generation of Pokémon Adventures had just concluded.
Pokémon-related industries were sprouting up everywhere. Every single one of them was still in its infancy—new companies hungry for opportunity.
The market was a vast blue ocean.
This was both an opportunity and a trend waiting to explode.
As for how he knew the timeline…
Heh.
Thanks to his massive reserve of Pokémon knowledge—and the experience he gained during his adventures before returning—he had successfully become a researcher under Professor Oak, spending the past three years happily slacking off.
But in those three years, he had quietly used his foresight behind the scenes to subtly push—ahem, guide—people like Red and Gold along their paths of growth.
He didn't really have a choice.
There would be plenty of disasters in this world's future. Someone needed to stand at the front and deal with them.
And Rei Akagi definitely didn't want to return to the exhausting life of a Trainer.
Luckily, all he had to do was occasionally drop a few hints—nothing that interfered with his leisurely lifestyle—and in the process, he could form connections with those "chosen protagonists."
Perfect.
And that was precisely why he had absolute confidence in Pokémon: FireRed / LeafGreen.
This game perfectly embodied the core spirit of Pokémon—
Collecting, Training, Battling, and Trading.
For countless people, it had been the irreplaceable starting point of their Pokémon journey.
Originally, Rei Akagi's idea had been simple: use Red's adventure as the blueprint for a traditional, linear Pokémon RPG.
But now that he had a clear goal—
Earn money and Battle Points—
There was no way he could treat the project casually anymore.
He sat back down at the computer, his gaze growing more focused.
After entering his credentials, he logged into the Sinnoh League's Official Developer Platform.
As one of Professor Oak's most trusted researchers, and thanks to the contributions he had made in Pokémon research over the past three years, he possessed the highest level of authorization for accessing the League's technical resources.
In other words, aside from a few core patented technologies monopolized by major corporations, he could freely use nearly any piece of advanced technology stored in the League's database.
Using that kind of tech to make a game…
Honestly, it felt a bit like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
But still—
"If we're going to do this, we're doing it right."
Rei Akagi's fingers danced across the keyboard as he began with the most fundamental step.
Map design.
Step one: Build the world.
An open-world map, right from the start.
Thanks to his previous research into Pokémon ecosystems, the complete 3D scan data of the Kanto region had already been stored in the database.
The models could be called up instantly.
However, copying reality exactly wouldn't work.
For the sake of gameplay, adjustments were necessary.
"Remove redundant areas… optimize travel routes… add interactive elements…"
Rei Akagi muttered to himself as he performed sweeping modifications to the map.
He wanted the entire Kanto region to retain its authentic flavor while becoming more compact, streamlined, and suited to game storytelling.
Step two: Build the Pokémon ecosystem.
He directly integrated the League's official ecological database and connected it to the latest AI simulation system.
With that setup, the Pokémon in the game would behave almost exactly like they did in real life.
As for the specific data of each Pokémon?
A faint smile appeared on Rei Akagi's lips.
In this world, there was probably no one who understood Pokémon better than he did.
From appearance and typing…
To hidden abilities and full move learnsets…
His mind practically contained a complete Pokémon encyclopedia.
And that—
Was the game's greatest selling point.
After all, becoming a Trainer in the real world wasn't easy.
Beyond loving Pokémon, you needed to master a huge amount of battle knowledge.
On top of that, the profession carried high risks, and raising Pokémon required enormous effort. As a result, Trainers made up only a small fraction of the workforce.
Even more surprising was how shockingly low the current level of Pokémon knowledge was.
Interestingly enough, most of the publicly available Pokémon information released by the League actually came from Professor Oak's Pokédex research.
At this point in time, the Pokédex had only finished cataloging two regions—Kanto and Johto.
"Today's Trainers…"
Rei Akagi shook his head.
"They probably can't even recognize all the basic moves."
Forget advanced concepts like Abilities.
Even Pokémon moves were something very few people could fully identify.
Thanks to the internet, people at least had a general awareness of Pokémon species—but it usually stopped at something like:
"Oh, that's a Charizard."
Veteran Trainers might understand a specific Pokémon extremely well, but that knowledge was often treated as private property and rarely shared publicly.
As for official sources of Pokémon knowledge?
Ninety-nine percent of it came from Professor Oak's research and Pokédex.
Which meant Pokémon: FireRed / LeafGreen could truly serve as the starting point for Pokémon battle education—the place where countless Trainer dreams began.
Through the relaxed, entertaining format of a game adventure, players could experience the strategy and excitement of battles.
At the same time, they would gradually learn essential Pokémon knowledge—
Abilities, move combinations, type matchups, and more.
A perfect foundation for becoming a Trainer.
It would help more people understand battles.
Learn battles.
Love battles.
And eventually become real Trainers.
With the core concept of "Become a Trainer anytime, anywhere,"
Rei Akagi could already imagine the massive sensation the game would cause after its release.