Chapter 4: Torchic Used Ember, with Outstanding Results! (4K)

As the chat fervently debated, many dismissing the turn-based system of this game as a flaw, Cynthia held a different perspective deep within her heart.

She pondered seriously: the turn-based format might seem shallow at first glance, but it could offer abundant room for development.

In a way, the mechanics of “Battle Frontier” were also turn-based, since the program executed game actions sequentially.

Especially in PvP battles, there was always a significant response time whenever both players input commands.

“Battle Frontier” added a feature allowing players to issue commands via voice, and with the Pokémon’s individual AI being excellent, battles felt more realistic in their execution.

Therefore, she found herself somewhat looking forward to how battles would unfold in this game.

Yet, she did not expect this game to elevate her understanding of being a trainer as “Battle Frontier” did.

Because every Pokémon battle game faced an unavoidable challenge: the developers must have an exhaustive understanding of each Pokémon!

From their available moves, types, and abilities, to their base stats and intrinsic traits, every characteristic had to be perfectly recreated to hold true competitive value.

“Battle Frontier” barely managed this feat, backed by a professional team of hundreds maintaining the database.

Still, it often suffered from bugs and mishaps—such as wrong abilities on certain Pokémon or errors in typing.

For example, a grass-type Piplup or a flying-type Torkoal.

This wasn’t due to negligence; with so many Pokémon, errors in game data were inevitable.

But the Pokémon Emerald she was playing now was developed by an individual creator, making this issue even more critical.

Thinking of this, Cynthia shook her head slightly and refocused on the game itself.

As Grovyle struck with Pound, the Poochyena’s health instantly halved.

Poochyena retaliated with Tackle, causing Grovyle to lose some HP.

Grovyle’s second Pound finished the fight; Poochyena was utterly defeated.

The chat erupted again in heated discussion.

“I knew it, turn-based really is a bit boring.”

“This looks easy—two hits and the opponent’s Pokémon is down. Just pick the strongest move each turn and use it, right? No way it’s as hard as the description says.”

“Still, I didn’t expect the battle animations to be so nice. The Pokémon actually move while attacking, not static at all.”

“True, the art is top-notch. The gameplay team really deserves some credit.”

Unlike Cynthia, the viewers had no idea this was a solo project; they assumed it was developed by a studio or a large company.

After all, some parts of the game looked very polished, hardly the work of a single person.

With the battle concluded, Cynthia’s character returned to the town’s research lab with Professor Odagaki.

As a reward for her aid, Odagaki gifted her Grovyle as her starter Pokémon.

Her rival, the “Black-Haired Boy,” chose Torchic as his starter and immediately, his Ultra-Competitive Syndrome flared, demanding a Pokémon battle with Cynthia.

Like the previous fight, this battle was easy; Torchic was even one level lower than Grovyle but was effortlessly defeated by Cynthia.

After the rival left, Professor Odagaki instructed her to head north to the road at the town’s edge to find the rival again; he said the rival left without receiving something owed, and handed her five Poké Balls in the process.

Cynthia obediently set off with Grovyle.

Before leaving, she checked the Pokémon status panel in her bag, trying to understand how this game differed from others.

With abilities and types faithfully replicated, the Pokémon’s stats were displayed numerically.

Her Grovyle’s standout stats were Speed and Special Attack, several points higher than its other attributes.

This caught Cynthia’s attention.

She had expected the game’s recreation of real Pokémon to be sloppy, but this was beyond her expectations.

Though she had never personally bred a Grovyle, she knew well that this starter Pokémon was known for its high Speed and Special Attack.

Evidently, the creator had captured this trait accurately.

Could it be that every Pokémon’s data was faithfully recreated?

She dismissed the thought quickly—it probably wasn’t possible.

Grovyle’s information was widely available online, so it was easy to replicate.

But for rare or obscure Pokémon, without access to a database, perfect recreation was unlikely.

Still, to have gotten this far was commendable.

Having finished examining the Pokémon info, Cynthia followed the game’s directions north, passing through a small town, arriving at a patch of tall grass at the northern edge.

Along the way, she encountered many wild Pokémon in the grass and battled them all.

The fights were easy; Grovyle’s level rose smoothly from 5 to 8, improving its stats and learning a new move, Quick Attack.

After she spoke with the “Black-Haired Boy” again, he claimed his Pokémon had changed dramatically and challenged her to another battle.

At that moment, the chat burst into laughter.

“This guy’s pretty nice, isn’t this just a walking XP boost?”

“Barely two minutes passed and he’s already back to give more XP.”

“Good people live long, good people have eight kids.”

Amid the chat’s laughter, Cynthia entered the battle.

But two seconds later, she realized the severity of the situation.

The rival sent out Torchic again.

But this time, Torchic was a level 9, one level higher than Grovyle.

A bad feeling crept over Cynthia.

An 8th-level Grovyle against a 9th-level Torchic...

Could she lose?

No, probably not—it was just a beginner quest, after all. Level 9 looked intimidating but should be manageable.

The “Black-Haired Boy” seemed like a novice guide character, only meant to teach basic mechanics.

With that in mind, she commanded Grovyle to use Quick Attack.

Grovyle lunged forward, spinning swiftly, its tail striking hard.

Torchic’s health bar dropped by nearly a third.

Then, Torchic opened its mouth, unleashing a fierce flame!

—“Torchic used Ember!”

—“It’s super effective!”

Grovyle’s health plummeted like a rollercoaster, quickly falling below half and flashing yellow.

Cynthia had guessed that Torchic’s type advantage at a higher level would inflict heavy damage.

But she hadn’t expected it to cost Grovyle half its HP in one hit!

Suddenly, she remembered passing by a blue building in town—a shop selling items—and she had bought a potion that restores Pokémon HP.

Quickly, she opened her bag and used the potion on Grovyle.

A purple mist sprayed out, and Grovyle’s HP bar instantly refilled.

Before she could relax, Torchic attacked again, spewing flames that cut Grovyle’s health back below half.

At this moment, Cynthia realized something different from other games: using an HP recovery item counted as a turn.

If so, this was a dead end.

Grovyle’s Pound and Quick Attack only reduced Torchic’s HP by less than a third each.

Torchic, however, needed just two Embers in a row to knock Grovyle out.

The potion only delayed defeat, not prevented it.

What now?

No matter what she did, she seemed destined to lose.

As a champion, Cynthia’s battle instincts quickly calmed her, prompting her to search for a way to break the stalemate.

Seconds later, a message suddenly popped up on the screen.

“You did not provide your Pokémon’s command in time, so the opponent acted first!”

“Torchic used Ember!”

“It’s super effective!!”

Blazing red flames surged; Grovyle was hit, the screen shaking violently as its health bar instantly depleted!

Two successive Embers, combined with type advantage, instantly KO’d Grovyle!

“Grovyle is unable to battle.”

“You have no more Pokémon left!”

“The world fades to black before StrawberryIceCream’s eyes...”

The screen went black immediately.

Cynthia sat stunned at the computer.

Then the scene shifted; her character reappeared in the Pokémon Center in town.

But the difference was the “Money” counter in the top right corner was completely emptied.

At once, the chat flooded with comments.

“No way? This is a beginner NPC, not some elite rival??”

“Even with type advantage and just one level difference... two hits to KO? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“I thought he was here to spar and give experience, but turns out he’s serious about winning!”

“No wonder he made the streamer pick first—he was waiting for a counter! Choosing a type advantage starter like that is shameless.”

“Call your invincible Garchomp, Nana, think of something!”

“Wait, I’ve got over a thousand bucks here—why is this Pokémon battle robbing us? Is Team Rocket here?”

As the chat blew up, Cynthia snapped out of her daze.

Now she understood why the game’s description claimed it was extremely difficult.

Other games she had played, even “Battle Frontier”’s PvE mode, had one core principle: fun.

Players could easily overpower NPCs early on, with NPC strength only ramping up mid- to late-game, and still be manageable.

But this game’s NPCs were obviously engaged in “fair competition” right from the beginner village!

No, it was even “unfair competition”—type advantage and higher levels—purely disadvantaging the player!

Moreover, if the player took too long to input commands in a turn, the game would skip their turn!

All these factors could be summed up with one word: hardcore.

Yet, despite the tough situation, Cynthia felt no discouragement—instead, something inside her ignited; her interest soared.

As a champion seasoned by countless trials, she knew only challenges and hardships foster the fastest growth.

If everything were always smooth sailing, neither trainer nor Pokémon could ever fully realize their true power, even at high levels.

At her current strength, few things could stop her—but this game offered her a fresh challenge.

Exhaling softly, she quickly composed herself and made a decision.

—Since the rival’s Pokémon was a level higher, she would first return to the nearby grass to level up Grovyle and try to learn new moves.

When faced with a formidable opponent, the best strategy was to grow stronger before fighting again!

With this thought, Cynthia left the Pokémon Center and began hunting wild Pokémon in the nearby grass.

Rattata, Poochyena, Taillow, Wurmple...

She battled every possible Pokémon in the area.

Ten minutes later, after defeating a Poochyena, Grovyle reached level 12!

A message appeared:

“Your current Pokémon level has reached the stage cap: 12. You must reach the next city to further increase levels.”

The chat began discussing again.

“Wait, there’s a level cap?”

“I think it makes sense. Otherwise, players could grind in the beginner village to level 50+ and become the ‘boss’ there, which would be boring.”

“+1”

“Now that it’s level 12, beating that level 9 Torchic should be no problem, right?”

“Yeah, with a three-level advantage, Grovyle should survive at least four Embers. Plenty of room to maneuver.”

“True, if she loses now, I’ll eat my hat!”

Meanwhile, Cynthia healed Grovyle at the Pokémon Center and returned to the tall grass at the road’s northern end, ready to challenge the rival again.

The “Black-Haired Boy” was momentarily surprised, then smiled:

“Huh? Looks like you’ve made some progress.”

“But I’m no pushover either—I won’t fall behind!”

“Since we’re face to face, let’s battle!”

Cynthia’s gaze was focused and serious.

Grovyle had reached level 12 and learned two new moves: Absorb and Detect.

This time, she was certain she would win.

The stirring battle music played again as the prompt appeared:

“Rival: Black-Haired Boy challenges you!”

He threw out a Poké Ball; a white flash revealed Torchic once more.

Everything seemed just like before.

But one detail was different.

The number next to Torchic’s level—

Lv. 13!!

Cynthia: ??????

Viewers: ???????

“Wait, you level up too during training? Are you serious??”