The morning sun rose over Planet Friton, its golden rays piercing through the winter frost and seemingly smiling directly at Dorian.
He woke up with a surge of boundless energy. Throwing the heavy blankets aside, he practically leaped out of bed and rushed to the window. He pushed the glass pane open, letting the crisp, freezing winter air rush into the bedroom. Just like the opening scene of a cheesy retro sitcom, Dorian closed his eyes and took a massive, exaggeratedly deep breath of the morning air.
Down below, patrolling the snow-dusted perimeter of the Kepler estate, was Lillo Kenne. The guard looked up, utterly baffled by the teenager leaning out the window in the freezing cold. Dorian grinned brightly and waved his hand wildly.
Lillo blinked, then slowly and awkwardly waved back.
Closing the window, Dorian rushed into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He hopped into the heated shower, the previous night's Gacha trauma completely washed away by the sheer thrill of his new multiversal theory. As he quickly dried off and threw on his signature comfortable grey sweater, he found himself dancing across the bathroom tiles, singing loudly to himself.
"Because I'm happy!" Dorian sang, his voice echoing off the walls. "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof!"
He stopped in front of the Mirror of Night, a high-tier asset he had pulled from the Hades banner. While it still functioned as a conduit to upgrade his physical attributes with Darkness, today he just used it to check his hair.
Satisfied with his slightly messy look, Dorian called upon the System.
The iridescent blue panel materialized in the air. He immediately navigated to the 'Banners' page, his eyes locking onto the bright red Pokémon: FireRed logo. The player base had been grinding for over twenty hours now. It was time to test the waters.
He tapped the 10-pull option, spending exactly 100,000 Resonance Points.
A brilliant flash of white light illuminated the bedroom. The digital capsules popped open one by one, revealing their contents on his inventory screen.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Dorian's eyes immediately lit up. Several high-grade Recovery Items dropped into his inventory, including three Super Potions, a Full Heal, and a Revive. But the true prize came on the final pull. A sleek, highly advanced piece of technological gear materialized on the screen.
[Exp. Share]
Dorian pumped his fist in the air. These items completely put yesterday's abysmal pull to shame. Getting an Exp. Share, a mid-game key item, absolutely confirmed his theory. He just needed to be patient and wait for the millions of players across the galaxy to progress further into the game. As they collectively uncovered the world of Kanto, the System's available prize pool deepened.
It was a slight shame he still had not gotten himself an actual, living Pokémon to roam the estate with, but he was not discouraged. Maybe next week's pull would finally give him a monster of his own.
…
Several hours later, the CEO of Round Table Studio strolled through the sleek, curved glass doors of his headquarters.
Dorian walked straight into the main junction room, expecting the usual frantic post-launch atmosphere. Instead, he found the core department heads huddled quietly around the central holographic table, looking incredibly confused.
"Good morning, team," Dorian greeted cheerfully, walking over to join them. "Why are we all gathered here?"
Kasavin looked up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Arthur. You should see this."
The Head of Production swiped his hand across the holo-table, expanding a massive collage of galactic news feeds. Dorian's eyes scanned the glowing text. VGN, GalaXtica, and several other massive gaming news outlets were heavily reporting on the unprecedented, record-breaking sales of Pokémon: FireRed.
However, the tone of the articles was completely unrecognizable. There was absolutely no mention of "digital dogfighting" or "animal cruelty." The smear campaign had vanished into thin air. Instead, the articles were overwhelmingly positive, praising RTS for their innovative combat mechanics and breathtaking creature designs.
Dorian blinked in profound confusion. "Where is this coming from?"
Logan Kim and Bem Lendu just exchanged baffled glances and shrugged.
"We genuinely don't know," Kasavin answered, his analytical mind clearly bothered by the lack of logic. "It is as if the entire media narrative was flipped upside down overnight. I contacted Raja this morning to ask if he had brokered a peace deal. Raja said that, as much as he desperately wanted to take the credit for this miracle, he did not do anything to make them react like this."
Dorian crossed his arms, his mind racing. "So... someone powerful helped us."
Lin Liseli leaned over the table, twirling a strand of her multi-colored hair with a bright, hopeful smile. "Or maybe they just finally realized how incredibly good our game is, and they decided to be our best friends instead!"
The entire group of veteran developers paused, staring at the cheerful Art Director for three silent seconds.
"Naaahhh," Logan, Bem, Dalle, and Kasavin all said in unison.
Dorian chuckled softly, dismissing the mystery for now. Whoever had pulled the strings from the shadows, he was grateful for the breathing room.
"Well, it is a very good thing nonetheless," Dorian commanded, "But we still have to be careful with this. Corporate media is fickle. Let us not get distracted from the task at hand. Bring up the telemetry logs, team. Let's see the report on what we need to fix for our Day One patch."
…
Meanwhile, somewhere deep within the urban sprawl of a Mid-Rim sector, the morning commute was already underway.
10-year-old Toby practically flew out the front door of his family's modest hab-block, clutching his HelioPad to his chest as if his life depended on it. He sprinted down the crowded metallic walkway, dodging a grumpy protocol compadre and a hovering street sweeper, until he reached the designated pickup zone for the local school transport.
As the hovering yellow transport pulled up and the doors hissed open, Toby rushed inside. He expertly navigated the sea of noisy students until he found his usual seat halfway down the aisle. His best friend, a scruffy-haired boy named Kath, was already there, his face completely buried in his own glowing screen.
"Kath! Move over!" Toby practically shouted, sliding into the seat and immediately booting up his HelioPad.
Kath barely looked up, his thumbs mashing the digital D-pad. "Toby, bro! Did you get to the city made of rocks yet? Have you gotten into a fight with Brock?!"
Toby shook his head defensively. "No, I haven't! My mom made me go to bed early. I couldn't really spend too much time exploring the forest."
Kath let out a dramatic, condescending sigh. "Dude. Brock's monsters are literal boulders. My little Charmender couldn't even scratch them! They kept using this move called 'Bide' and then completely obliterated me. Did you at least get your starter to level 14 before you got off?"
Toby smiled, a smug, highly superior grin spreading across his face. "Hehe. Level 14? Please. I was grinding in the tall grass for hours. My Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle already."
Kath's eyes snapped wide open, tearing his gaze away from his screen for the very first time. "Evolved?! You're lying! What moves did it learn?!"
"I'm not lying!" Toby insisted, pulling up his summary screen to show proof. "Look! It learned Water Gun! It shoots hydro-blast!"
"No way..." Kath whispered in pure awe. He leaned over, entirely captivated by the pixelated blue turtle. "But wait, look at its sprite. It looks cooler already. Will mine be cooler too?"
"I think so," Toby nodded sagely, "I think if you defeat enough bugs in the forest, they'll evolved and become stronger."
"That makes total sense," Kath agreed seriously, fully accepting this flawless ten-year-old logic.
The transport hummed as it took off, making its way through the morning traffic. The two boys spent the next ten minutes intensely swapping rumors they had heard from older kids at the playground. They debated whether you could actually catch the giant rock snake they saw on the box art, and Kath swore he saw a ghost when he walked through a specific patch of grass near the starting town.
Eventually, the transport hissed to a stop at its final pickup point before the school.
The doors opened, and a young girl named Athna stepped on. She usually sat in the row right next to Toby and Kath. Athna was known for being incredibly aloof and intensely focused on her studies; she rarely ever spoke to anyone on the morning commute.
Toby immediately quieted down, trying to pretend he was focusing on his homework module instead of Pokémon.
Athna slid into the seat next to them. She slowly, somewhat awkwardly pulled out a brand-new, sleek pink HelioPad.
Toby glanced over out of the corner of his eye. His jaw dropped. She had Pokémon: FireRed open.
Athna noticed him staring. She quickly tried to hide the screen, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "It... it was a gift. From my dad. I'm just trying to figure out how it works."
Her usual icy aloofness completely melted away as she looked at her screen with absolute despair.
"My little green plant guy keeps fainting," Athna admitted quietly, sounding genuinely distressed. "Every time a bird attacks him, his health goes all the way down, and then I have to run all the way back to the Poké Center. I don't want him to get hurt anymore."
Toby felt a sudden surge of pride. He finally knew something that the smartest girl in his class didn't.
He puffed out his chest slightly, leaning across the aisle.
"You're fighting Flying-types with a Grass-type," Toby explained, adopting the wise, experienced tone of a seasoned Pokémon Master. "It's like rock-paper-scissors, Athna. Birds eat plants, so they do way more damage to him."
Athna blinked, her eyes widening. "Really? That's... that's actually logical. How do I stop the birds?"
Toby smiled warmly, completely forgetting about his awkwardness. "I could teach you. Look, if you use this move here, 'Growl,' you can lower the bird's attack before it hits you. And if you want to level your plant guy up without him fainting, you can switch him out right when the battle starts! He'll still get half the experience points!"
"Wait, really?!" Kath interrupted from the window seat, sounding betrayed. "You can do that?! How do you know?!"
"Because I'm me!" Toby shot back.
Athna giggled, a genuine, bright sound that made Toby's face flush. She leaned closer, completely absorbed in the strategy. "Okay... show me how to switch him out. I want to make him super strong."
As the transport finally arrived at the school, the three of them were completely huddled together over a single HelioPad screen, entirely united by the simple, magical task of raising a digital monster.
…
Several days passed.
Far away from the glittering, hyper-connected Core Rims, the galaxy looked vastly different. Out here on the far corner of the Outer Rims, the Accord's monolithic network barely touched the planets. The galactic net was notoriously unreliable, often dropping out for days at a time due to solar flares or degraded relay towers.
Because of this digital isolation, physical media was still king.
On one of these quiet, arid colony worlds, a small, dimly lit shop sat nestled between a grocer and a repair garage. The neon sign above the door flickered weakly, displaying a simple title: Fo's Chip & Play.
It was an old-school physical game store. While the rest of the galaxy seamlessly downloaded millions of titles off the Void platform in seconds, the people here relied entirely on physical data chips imported by passing merchant freighters.
Inside the shop, the air smelled of ozone, dust, and old circuitry. Hallan Fo, the aging, gruff owner of the store, sat comfortably behind his scratched metal counter.
He booted up his personal HelioPad, tapping the network icon in the top right corner. The icon spun for a few seconds before turning red.
No Signal.
Fo let out a long, heavy sigh, resting his chin in his hand. "Nothing again today. I guess I really do have to wait for that rusty maintenance Compadre to come all the way out here and fix the regional relay."
He leaned back in his creaky chair. Honestly, the lack of a network connection was not that bad today. In fact, it was the perfect excuse to ignore his inventory logs.
Just a few days ago, a passing Qerrian merchant ship had dropped off a small, highly coveted crate of newly printed physical game chips. It was the latest release from that crazy studio in the Mid-Rim. Fo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, bright red data chip.
Pokémon: FireRed.
Fo slotted the physical chip into his HelioPad. The screen lit up, completely bypassing the need for a network connection, and the bouncy, orchestral intro music filled the quiet store. Within minutes, the old man was completely engrossed, wandering through the grass of Route 3 with a small, fire-breathing lizard trailing behind him on the screen.
Hours passed in the blink of an eye. The afternoon sun began to dip low, casting long, orange shadows across the dusty streets outside.
It was time for the local planetary school to let out.
SLIDE!
The heavy mechanical doors of the store were violently shoved open, rattling the glass panes.
"OLD MAANN!!" a loud, unruly voice echoed through the shop.
Fo violently startled, his finger slipping and accidentally throwing a Poké Ball at a Pidgey with full health. The bird immediately broke out and fled.
"GAAHH!" Fo shouted, gripping his chest as his heart hammered against his ribs. He glared over the counter. "Mika! Can you just open a door normally for once in your life?!"
Standing in the doorway was Mika, a highly energetic fourteen-year-old girl with scraped knees and a messy ponytail. She was still wearing her grey, standard-issue local school uniform. Standing right behind her was her usual entourage of three other scruffy teenagers, all of them snickering loudly at the old man's absolute panic.
"Sorry, Fo!" Mika laughed, totally unrepentant as she marched up to the counter and slammed her hands down on the metal. "We will take four hours of HelioPad rental time today!"
Fo arched a skeptical, unamused eyebrow, looking at the ragged group of kids. Usually, they pooled their allowance just to rent a single terminal and take turns playing.
"Hoo?" Fo grunted. "Four hours each on your own screens, or four hours sharing just one HelioPad?"
"Four hours each!" Mika declared proudly, puffing out her chest. "I got a perfect grade on my stellar-geography exam yesterday, so my mom actually gave me a massive bonus allowance!"
One of the boys behind her leaned over, grinning brightly. "Oh, and don't forget the discount, Mika!"
Fo crossed his arms. "Let me see the proof."
Mika confidently reached into her backpack and slammed a physical, crumpled grade report onto the counter. Her friends eagerly did the same.
Fo reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a pair of thick reading glasses. He slid them onto his nose and carefully inspected the physical papers. Sure enough, despite their unruly attitudes, all four of them had scored incredibly well on their local planetary exams.
It was a quiet, unspoken rule in Fo's shop. The Outer Rim was a harsh, unforgiving place, and education was usually the only ticket out. So, years ago, Fo had instituted the 'Good Grade Discount'. If a kid brought in a passing test score, they got their gaming rental time half-off.
Fo's gruff expression softened into a hidden, proud smile. He handed the papers back.
"Alright, alright," Fo grumbled, pretending to be annoyed as he tapped his terminal to unlock four rental HelioPads in the back of the shop. "You gremlins get the discount. Go pick your seats."
The kids cheered, grabbing their backpacks.
Just before Mika ran off to claim the most comfortable chair, she turned back, her eyes shining with curiosity. "Oh, hey Fo! Do you have any new games in the system? Last time I was here, I finally beat the final boss in Hades. I need something fresh."
Fo looked down at his own screen. He looked at the vast, vibrant, and incredibly colorful world of Kanto that rewarded patience, exploration, and the simple joy of discovery. It was the perfect adventure for kids stuck on a dusty border world.
Fo looked up, offering a genuine, knowing smile.
"Oh," Fo chuckled softly, holding up the bright red physical chip. "I got a very good one, alright."
…
Meanwhile, deep within the glittering, hyper-advanced metropolis of a Core Rim sector, a group of teenagers was strolling down a pristine, elevated skywalk.
Around them, hovering vehicles zoomed through the sky-lanes, and massive holographic billboards advertised luxury synth-clothing and off-world vacations. But despite the endless barrage of high-tech stimuli, the teens were completely absorbed in the only topic that mattered right now.
Pokémania.
"I swear to the stars, I am not making this up," Idroy Zis said, wildly gesturing with his hands. "My 255-year-old grandmother literally called me on the comms last night, right before bed, just to ask me what a 'Pikachu' is."
His best friend, Luyu Gwen, let out a loud laugh, nearly dropping his half-empty can of synth-soda. "Are you serious? Your grandma?!"
"Dead serious!" Idroy groaned, though a massive grin was plastered on his face. "She said all the other elders in her rejuvenation ward were talking about it! The game hasn't even been out that long, and it's literally everywhere!"
"I think there was even a massive segment about it on the galactic news this morning," another boy in the group chimed in. "Like, actual mainstream news."
"Really?" Luyu asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know the details," the boy shrugged. "I was just walking past the living room when my dad was watching the broadcast. But they were showing clips of the battles."
As they walked, Idroy suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
The rest of the group took a couple more steps before realizing their friend was no longer beside them. They turned back. "Hey, Idroy! What are you doing? We're going to be late to the café."
Idroy just raised a finger, pointing directly at a small, mundane general store nestled between two towering corporate hab-blocks.
Flickering brightly in the store's display window was a brand-new holographic banner. It displayed the unmistakable, vibrant images of a yellow electric mouse and the three Kanto starter monsters. Beneath their happily animated sprites, a bold, catchy tagline flashed: Play and Collect Them All!
Luyu squinted at the sign. "Merch? In a random general store? Are we sure that isn't some cheap Outer Rim knock-off trying to cash in on the hype?"
"It's an official Accord-sanctioned general store," Idroy pointed out, his eyes locked onto the banner. "They don't sell illegal knock-offs here. But... I am curious. Aren't you guys curious?"
The others just exchanged unenthusiastic glances and shrugged. "Meh. Not really."
"Come on," Idroy urged, already jogging toward the sliding glass doors. "Let's just see what they actually have."
With a collective sigh, the group followed him inside. The store was quiet, filled with aisles of basic household supplies and packaged rations. Idroy walked straight up to the checkout counter.
"Hey," Idroy greeted the bored-looking clerk leaning against the register. "I saw that Pokémon banner outside. What exactly are you guys selling?"
The clerk didn't even blink. He lazily reached out, grabbed a small display box from a shelf behind him, and placed it onto the counter. He pulled out a single, brightly colored foil packet and slid it toward the teens.
Luyu picked it up, feeling the crinkly, lightweight material. He frowned in profound confusion. "It's... paper? Paper cards? What in the universe is the use of printed paper? Is this a joke?"
The clerk let out a long, heavy sigh. He pulled a small corporate cheat sheet from beneath the register and began reading from it in a completely flat, agonizingly unenthusiastic monotone.
"These packs are a physical collection of the Pokémon you know and love," the clerk droned on, his eyes glazed over. "You can play with your friends, battle them in an official Trading Card Game format, trade them, and... collect them all."
"Alright, alright, we get it, man," Idroy chuckled, holding up a hand to stop the miserable corporate pitch. He looked down at the foil packs. The artwork of the Charizard on the front was incredibly dynamic and high-quality. "How much is one pack?"
"Two credits," the clerk answered, tossing the cheat sheet back under the counter.
"Two credits?" Luyu scoffed, shaking his head. "Idroy, let's just leave. Don't waste it on cardboard."
But Idroy was staring at the foil pack. He thought about the digital monsters he had spent the last several nights tirelessly raising on his HelioPad. He felt a strange, inexplicable urge to see what was inside the shiny wrapper. Besides, two credits was absolute pocket change.
With barely a second thought, Idroy tapped his wristband against his bank interface. "I'll take five of them."
The clerk silently scanned the transaction, handed Idroy five crinkly packs, and went right back to staring at the ceiling.
Idroy thanked him and rejoined his friends as they walked back out into the bustling street.
Luyu looked at the bright foil packs in his friend's hands and groaned. "I seriously cannot believe you just bought those. You literally fell for the most cheap looking merch in the galaxy."
"Well, the foil cover looks really cool already," Idroy defended himself, admiring the vibrant red and orange colors shining under the city lights. He casually slipped four of the packs into his jacket pocket and gripped the top of the first one, ready to tear it open.
"Besides," Idroy smiled, uttering the famous, universally fatal last words of every single Trading Card Game addict in the history of the multiverse. "I'm just going to stop as soon as I get my favorite Pokémon anyway."
One of the boys in the back chuckled. "Oh yeah? What's your favorite?"
Idroy gripped the foil and opened. "Charizard."
=====
A/N: Hi. I'm just here to rant a little and tell you all what's been happening recently, and why my chapter releases have been a bit sparse lately.
For some context: my father is a full professor with several degrees, while I'm just a computer engineering bachelor's graduate. I used to work as a concierge, and now I'm working as an animator while doing this on the side.
A few days ago, several aunties came over to my house. I wasn't in the best mental state to begin with. Every frame of animation felt sluggish, and every piece of writing I produced felt unreadable. Then they started saying that I'm getting too fat, too thin, too obsessed with work, that I need to find a girlfriend soon, asking when I'm going to continue my studies further, when I'm going to get married, and so on.
I know they mean well. I really do. But for all the gods there are, hearing all of that started getting stuck in my head. And eventually, it began to gnaw at me.
So, I decided to be honest with myself.
I've done my best. Granted, I know I could do better, but simply acknowledging that these things were bothering me somehow made the burden feel lighter.
I want you (and myself) to remember this: be honest. Not just with other people, but with yourself, too. Sometimes, admitting that something bothers you is the first step toward letting it go.
Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Enjoy the chapter!