"First rule: wait for dinner!"
"Salted Fish Teacher's strategy guide doesn't work at all against the real Cerulean Gym! Gym Leader Misty just sets up full ventilation and even brings Pecha Berries to cure poison!"
"Thanks for the invite. Currently at Vermilion City Pokémon Center, full Wi-Fi signal, great environment. Just got warmly escorted here by Lt. Surge. Nice guy—would visit again."
"Salted Fish Teacher, are you doing ranked battles today? Show us how to trigger the hidden storyline! I want to see the hidden storyline!!!"
"Where's my Gastly streamer? Why isn't the camera on!"
"Uh… the streamer's put on a bit of weight lately and is feeling self-conscious, so the camera will stay off for now. Also, no ranked battles today."
Rei Akagi picked out a few messages from the scrolling chat while connecting the game feed.
"Since I've already climbed into the top 100 of the ranked ladder, if I keep playing people might accuse the devs of manipulating the scores. So today we'll focus on guiding everyone through a hidden storyline—we're heading to Lavender Town!"
On the screen, Rei stood before the default male and female characters, their IDs hovering above their heads: Red and Blue.
"Welcome Red and Blue to tonight's adventure! I'm sure someone's already wondering—where did Green go?"
Rei Akagi coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem… unfortunately, someone 'optimized' me out…"
"Good evening everyone, this is Blue! Please take care of me~"
A sweet, syrupy female voice suddenly came through the comms.
Before Rei Akagi could react, Red had already broken out in goosebumps.
"Blue, can you speak normally?"
Silence fell over the call. Only the chat kept scrolling.
"Legendary Red really has no filter…"
"Even if you're Legendary Red, I still advise you not to meddle. I like hearing that sugary voice!"
"Optimized? Hahaha! I'll never forget that heart-rending scream from Legendary Green!"
"While no one's looking, I'll just quietly carry Blue away."
"Nice try. Confiscating the tool of your crime."
"Alright, alright! Let's start the game!"
Before Blue could explode, Rei Akagi hurriedly seized control of the conversation and forced the stream forward.
"Let's go, let's go. Lavender Town is just ahead."
"Hmph! I'll spare your life for now—for Salted Fish Teacher's sake."
Blue snorted. Her syrupy voice instantly switched back to a normal tone.
She controlled Blue's character and strode ahead confidently. Her stylish outfit looked striking on screen, giving her the air of a cool big sister.
They crossed the Route 12 seaside road.
Ahead of them appeared a quiet town shrouded in faint twilight.
Low houses stood scattered across the landscape, clustered around a towering structure in the town's center—a tall tower that pierced into the sky and looked strangely out of place.
An indescribable sense of imbalance lingered in the air, tinged with melancholy.
Lavender Town
"The noble and mysterious purple town."
As the text appeared, a slow melody began to play—gentle, yet carrying a faintly eerie and hollow undertone.
Blue, who had been walking at the front with great confidence, suddenly stopped.
In the next second, she spun a perfect 180 degrees and dashed back beside Rei, sticking close to him. Her voice sounded noticeably weaker.
"Um… I don't know the way…"
"I understand. Completely understandable."
Rei Akagi replied with a smile, not exposing the obvious fact that she'd been frightened by the music and atmosphere.
After all, he had put a lot of effort into designing Lavender Town.
Especially when it came to scaring people…
Red, on the other hand, felt nothing. Assuming Blue genuinely didn't know the way, he eagerly pushed his character to the front.
"Lavender Town? I know this place like the back of my hand."
The three entered the town.
Time seemed to flow differently here. The sky darkened at a visibly rapid pace.
The streets were completely empty. Only dim yellow streetlamps cast wavering pools of light. The evening wind passed through the hollow streets, producing a faint, mournful sound.
Then suddenly—
A young girl's voice sounded behind them.
Soft, innocent, and strangely ethereal.
Little Girl: "Do you… believe in ghosts?"
"Who's there?! Who said that?!"
Red nearly jumped out of his chair in shock before realizing it was just an NPC dialogue trigger.
"Oh. I thought a thief broke into my house or something."
Blue said nothing.
But on screen, her character suddenly dove straight into Rei's arms, almost knocking him over.
The three slowly turned their camera view around.
A little girl with pink twin-tails stood at the entrance of a dim alley.
An innocent smile hung on her face. Her large eyes shone brightly in the shadows as she stared at them expectantly without blinking.
As a staunch materialist, Red answered first.
"Ghosts? That's impossible… uh, wait—do Ghost-type Pokémon count?"
"R-Right!"
Blue's muffled voice followed.
"There's no such thing as real ghosts… those are just stories for kids…"
But the tone of her voice sounded extremely unconvincing.
Little Girl: "Hehehe. I don't think so."
Little Girl: "Look… there's a white ghost hand resting on your shoulder."
On the screen—
A pale hand suddenly appeared on Red and Blue's shoulders.
Just resting there.
"Whoa, there really is a hand! How did they do that? Game effects?"
Red sounded thrilled.
Blue: "..."
"Alright, that's enough scaring people."
Rei Akagi sighed helplessly and spoke toward the girl.
"Let Mr. Mime come out."
Little Girl: "Hehehe… you found out."
As she spoke, the pale hands gradually revealed more details—
Wrists.
Arms.
Until finally, a Mr. Mime with a permanently goofy smile appeared beside the girl.
"Ha! I knew it!"
Blue instantly revived with full confidence, her voice rising again.
"Ghosts? Please! Just cheap tricks! Who do you think you're scaring!"
Little Girl:
"This town is famous for burying the souls of Pokémon, so there are lots of strange rumors here."
Little Girl:
"Oh, right! If you want to pay respects to Pokémon, you can go to the Pokémon Tower over there… but be careful~"
Little Girl:
"There are ghosts wandering inside the tower. Maybe they're the spirits of Pokémon who couldn't find their way home… Hehe, just kidding!"
Little Girl:
"You're traveling trainers, right? Come with me! I'll take you somewhere really, really great!"
After saying that, the girl skipped happily toward a nearby house, Mr. Mime waddling along behind her with exaggerated steps.
"Lavender Town… the resting place of departed Pokémon. Could there really be ghosts here?"
"The art style changed completely! Am I really playing Pokémon?!"
"Everything was so warm and wholesome before—what the heck happened in Lavender Town?"
"Damn it! My phone flew out of my hand from the scare! The screen cracked! Salted Fish Teacher, compensate me!!!"
"I'll never look at Mr. Mime the same way again…"
The chat continued to scroll wildly.
The appearance of the little girl had instantly scared tens of thousands of viewers out of the stream, though fortunately many were already returning.
The sign in front of the house read:
"Lavender Pokémon Rescue House."
They pushed open the door.
Warm yellow light immediately drove away the chill from outside.
An elderly man with a kind face was feeding several weak-looking Pokémon.
Little Girl:
"This is Mr. Fuji! He's super, super kind! He's always taking care of Pokémon that were abandoned, or sick, or lonely!"
After introducing him, the girl ran off into the back room with Mr. Mime to play.
Mr. Fuji noticed the visitors, set down the medicine bowl in his hands, and greeted them with a smile.
He gestured for them to sit down and poured three cups of hot tea.
Then the dialogue box appeared.
A new conversation had been triggered.
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