The basic framework was complete.
Step three: character design.
Back when the idea of making the game first came to mind, Rei Akagi had already contacted the various Gym Leaders and obtained permission to use their likenesses.
Thanks to the relationships he had built over the years, most of them didn't even ask what he intended to do—they simply agreed without hesitation.
As for the original protagonist group, there was even less to worry about.
But…
There was one person who made him hesitate.
Someone who was not only the final boss of the game, but also the true mastermind behind the scenes of that past adventure in the real world—
Giovanni.
Rei Akagi's feelings toward that man were complicated.
In the previous world, he and Giovanni—the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket, who sought to rule the world—had been sworn enemies.
But in this world, thanks to the butterfly effect caused by Rei Akagi's actions, their relationship had become something far more subtle.
Neither friend nor enemy.
A strange mutual understanding existed between them.
Under Rei Akagi's influence, Giovanni in this world still had his share of dark stains—such as capturing Pokémon for questionable purposes—but he had never taken the path of pure world domination like his Rainbow Rocket counterpart.
Instead, he had developed a unique and undeniable charisma.
Originally, Rei Akagi had only intended to create a simple little game for his own amusement—to commemorate his lost youth.
If necessary, he could have easily thrown in some random original villain to fill the role of final boss.
But things were different now.
What he wanted was that authentic nostalgia.
"Ugh… this is troublesome."
Rei Akagi scratched his messy, bird-nest-like hair in frustration.
He took out his phone and stared at a particular contact for a long time before finally pressing the call button.
Beep… beep… beep…
Click.
The call connected.
After a brief silence, a deep, imposing voice came through the receiver.
"Speak."
"Uh…"
For once, Rei Akagi felt a little awkward.
The first time he had ever called this man—and it was just to ask for character licensing for a video game.
"I'm planning to make a game with Red as the protagonist… and your character will appear in it. I need permission to use your likeness."
The voice on the other end remained calm and unreadable.
"Do as you like."
After a brief pause, the voice spoke again, as if casually asking:
"…How has Silver been lately?"
"I haven't seen him in a while either."
Rei Akagi raised an eyebrow, recalling a photo he had recently seen in Gold's social media feed.
"But judging from Gold's posts, he seems to be doing well."
Well—assuming you didn't count how often Gold annoyed him to the point of turning red with anger.
"…I see."
The voice responded quietly.
Just as Rei Akagi thought the call was about to end, the deep voice added one more sentence:
"You may portray Team Rocket's past crimes honestly."
"But… don't make me look too weak."
"Understood."
Rei Akagi smiled knowingly.
He knew Giovanni didn't care about public opinion at all.
That request was for Silver's sake.
After all, no child wanted to see their father portrayed as weak in a game.
After hanging up, Rei Akagi let out a long breath.
The most difficult character authorization was settled.
Next came the core of the entire game—
The Pokémon battle system.
Rei Akagi didn't even consider a turn-based system.
What he wanted was realism.
A real-time command system, seamlessly connected to the League's massive combat database, allowing players to experience Pokémon battles in the game that felt almost identical to real ones.
As for whether players would actually win?
Why are you looking at me?
If you can't win, go grind levels.
If your tactics get crushed, crush them back with better stats.
Rei Akagi thought about it with complete confidence.
After all, that was one of the core truths of Pokémon battles.
In addition to official Gym Battles and League matches, unsanctioned wild battles would also remain part of the system.
Players could directly control their Trainer character—dodging attacks through movement, throwing Poké Balls to disrupt opponents, or even using environmental elements.
All of it would make battles more exciting, unpredictable, and realistic.
As for character modeling, Rei Akagi chose a 3D realistic style.
The League archives already contained detailed records and high-definition footage of every Gym Leader.
By extracting their signature features and rendering them into high-quality models, then integrating AI behavioral simulations, the characters could be placed directly into the game world.
Their behavior patterns would closely resemble their real-life personalities.
The remaining work was relatively simple.
He integrated all the prepared assets—story scripts, questlines, environmental objects—into the framework he had built earlier, ensuring the narrative ran smoothly within the open-world structure.
As for bonus elements like music, art style polish, and UI refinement?
For now, he would just use the rough electronic BGM he had composed earlier. Visual details could remain a bit crude.
As long as the game ran, that was enough.
After all, it was only a test build.
Once the core gameplay was finalized, the rest could be polished during official development.
Outside the window, a blinding ray of sunlight suddenly poured into the room.
Rei Akagi squinted.
Only then did he realize he had pulled an all-nighter.
Rubbing his sore eyes—dark circles hanging heavily beneath them—he stretched his stiff body and began packaging the preliminary game build, compiling it and running a test.
After confirming that it could run properly without any obvious major bugs, he copied the rough but functional program onto a physical storage card.
Looking at the tiny card in his hand, a strange sense of fulfillment welled up inside him.
Creating Pokémon in the real Pokémon world with his own hands…
In a way, it fulfilled the dream of that young boy he once was.
Naturally, the game would have two versions—
FireRed and LeafGreen.
After all, beyond battling, social interaction and trading were half of Pokémon's core gameplay.
But perfection wasn't necessary for a test version.
A simple single-player demo would be enough to test the waters.
Now then, the final step.
Who should be the guinea pig—ahem, game tester?
Rei Akagi stroked his chin thoughtfully, a friendly smile spreading across his face.
After all, no one understood the adventure he had experienced better than the one who lived it.
Right?
Red.
He opened his phone and logged into WeChat.
Since it was a communication platform specially customized by the Pokémon League for Trainers, it supported cross-region messaging and made group chats extremely easy to create.
Rei Akagi created a new group chat.
He casually named it:
"Pokémon Game Development Group"
Then, expressionless, he scrolled through his contacts and accurately selected several people who loved to "bother" him from time to time.
With a few taps, he pulled them all into the group.
The battle-crazed idiot.
The grumpy rival.
The sneaky thief.
The lonely little sunshine.
He waited for a while.
Silence.
"Well… looks like everyone's busy."
"Busy is good."
Rei Akagi muttered to himself as he turned off the screen.
Dragging his exhausted body along, he staggered toward his beloved bed.
However, what he didn't know was that the moment the screen went dark, four system notifications quietly appeared—each marked with an official verification glow.
"The Battler has joined the group chat."
"The Breeder has joined the group chat."
"The Evolver has joined the group chat."
"The Healer has joined the group chat."