Chapter 6: The Burning Flame

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In this world, Pokémon had long since become an integral part of people’s lives, their presence visible in every corner of the city.

“Harmony between humans and Pokémon” was not just an empty slogan; it was a reality truly achieved.

During the week Ling Feng had spent in this world, he had seen plenty of Pokémon: Meowth grooming itself on a street corner, Eevee being carried by a girl, and Pidgey fluttering through the sky. He had already grown accustomed to them.

However, the issue was that, aside from a few brief outings, he had mostly stayed indoors during the past week, focusing on developing his game.

—After all, his rent was due soon, and if he didn’t earn some money, the landlord would kick him out!

Thus, he hadn’t had much close contact with any Pokémon during that time.

But now, that was changing.

And this encounter came completely out of the blue.

Startled by the sudden appearance, Ling Feng instinctively took two steps back before calming down enough to carefully observe the Pokémon before him.

It resembled a candle, with a deep blue flame flickering atop.

This was a Litwick—and not just any Litwick, but a shiny one!

Why on earth was such a Ghost-type Pokémon appearing in his room?

Panic surged through Ling Feng again.

Ghost-type Pokémon were extremely rare in cities, mostly found in remote wilderness areas. They were dangerous because they fed on the energy of other living beings.

Litwick was one of them. From what he remembered, despite their cute appearance, these creatures silently devoured human souls.

In other words, if he wasn’t careful, his soul could be sucked away!

At this moment, Ling Feng stared intently at the Litwick, which returned his gaze.

Human and Pokémon locked eyes, the air heavy with silence.

As Ling Feng took a step back, he noticed the Litwick didn’t move.

Moreover, even standing so close, he felt no discomfort.

So… this little one hadn’t “eaten” him?

Ling Feng pondered carefully.

This Litwick probably hadn’t just arrived, as he had vaguely felt a chill even while asleep earlier.

It was summer, so feeling cold was unusual. The creature must have been here for some time.

Yet, he awoke feeling refreshed and energetic—nothing like someone whose soul had been drained.

Looking again at the Litwick, its flame flickered weakly, as if it might extinguish at any moment. How could it be in such a state if it had just feasted on a soul?

Considering the circumstances, it seemed this Pokémon harbored no ill intent.

“Um… hello?” Ling Feng tentatively waved his hand and greeted.

“Mofu—” The Litwick glanced at him and responded with a soft call.

However, Ling Feng realized he couldn’t understand it at all.

What did it mean?

“Mofu mofu!” The Litwick called again, more urgently this time, its flame twisting into the shape of an arrow pointing at its own body.

From a human’s perspective, that spot was probably its stomach.

Ling Feng guessed and asked, “Are you hungry?”

The Litwick nodded vigorously.

“Alright, wait here and don’t move. I’ll get you something to eat right away.”

Saying this, Ling Feng turned and rushed out of the room.

The Litwick stayed behind, tilting its head, its green eyes watching Ling Feng's retreating figure with a hint of confusion.

The human… left?

But… it said it was going to get food.

Food… that’s good.

I’m so hungry.

But… I absolutely mustn’t eat the human.

That would make them uncomfortable.

Yeah.

...

In a world teeming with Pokémon and trainers, the related industries naturally flourished.

Though Ling Feng lived in a relatively remote part of Tokiwashi City, there was still a shop downstairs selling Pokémon items.

He withdrew the money earned from selling two thousand copies of his game and entered the shop, selecting the most expensive Ghost-type Pokémon food.

This special food was crafted by breeders specifically for Ghost-type Pokémon, tailored to their unique need for soul energy. It contained a special energy formula to supplement their nourishment.

Though it couldn’t match the effect of directly absorbing souls, it could satisfy their basic requirements.

After all, trainers wouldn’t want their Ghost Pokémon actually feeding on people, would they?

That would make them akin to dark cultists carrying a “Soul Banner” around, and the league would surely arrest them.

After buying the food, Ling Feng hurried home and placed the jar in front of the Litwick.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Eat up.”

The Litwick poked its head out and curiously sniffed the black food inside the jar. Its eyes immediately brightened.

“Mofu mofu!”

In the next instant, it buried its head in the jar.

The food rapidly disappeared before Ling Feng’s eyes.

The speed surprised him.

Goodness, how many days had it been starving to eat that fast?

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After finishing half the jar, the Litwick finally stopped.

Its flame flickered more robustly than before.

“Mofu—”

It let out a satisfied call, eyes squinting with warmth and gratitude as it looked at Ling Feng.

“As long as you’re full, you’re welcome,” Ling Feng smiled, feeling relieved.

Thankfully, the expensive food was worth it—even though it cost over two thousand yen a jar, at least the Litwick liked it.

But come to think of it… he couldn’t understand Pokémon speech?

In the original game, Pokémon could understand human language, and while humans couldn’t fully comprehend Pokémon speech, they could at least grasp the gist.

When trainer and Pokémon built a close bond, this barrier disappeared entirely, allowing seamless communication.

But just now, Ling Feng couldn’t understand a word from the Litwick; he had to rely solely on guessing.

That was a bit troublesome…

Just then, a golden prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Host detected with Pokémon language understanding requirement!]

[Recommended for you: Pokémon Language Translation Module (Basic)]

[Upon unlocking this module, you can comprehend any Pokémon language and accurately reproduce Pokémon cries and speech in real life.]

[Unlocking this module requires 100 Emotion Points.]

Seeing this, Ling Feng’s eyes lit up.

With this, he could finally understand the Litwick!

Moreover, unlocking it would help with his game development, perfectly replicating Pokémon sounds and speech to enhance realism.

He could even immediately add this feature to his Pokémon Emerald game!

And the module wasn’t expensive—only 100 Emotion Points.

He currently had over 600 points.

Without hesitation, Ling Feng purchased it.

[Purchase successful. Module activated. Current Emotion Points: 562]

After reading the prompt, Ling Feng looked back at the Litwick and asked,

“Are you full now?”

“Mofu! Mofu!”

[Yes, I’m full! Thank you, human!]

The Litwick nodded in response, and Ling Feng could clearly understand its words.

But the speech pattern… it felt oddly familiar.

Ling Feng paused, then asked again,

“How long have you been in my room?”

“Mofu mofu, mofu.”

[For a long time! The human was playing with the big metal box. I waited for you to sleep… then I could eat you…]

Hearing this, Ling Feng shuddered. Though he knew “eat” meant soul, it was still chilling.

He composed himself and continued,

“Then why didn’t you eat me in the end?”

This time the Litwick didn’t answer immediately, instead thinking.

“Mofu, mofu.”

[Because the human would feel uncomfortable. I don’t want to make the human uncomfortable.]

Ling Feng was stunned.

What the heck?!

Was he blessed with an SSR legendary spirit?

Just like the “first come, first served” rule for stray Meowth, and the same for unowned Pokémon, Ling Feng made his decision without hesitation, extending a hand to the Litwick.

“In that case, how about following me from now on? I’ll take care of your food, so you won’t be hungry, and you won’t have to worry about making others uncomfortable by absorbing their souls.”

Ghost-type Pokémon feeding on souls was both instinct and a way to replenish their energy.

But if their energy could be fully restored through other means, why would they need to absorb souls?

Unless they were naturally vicious Ghost Pokémon who took pleasure in devouring souls.

But clearly, this Litwick was not one of those.

Upon hearing this, the Litwick’s eyes brightened, nodding repeatedly and happily hopping around Ling Feng.

“Mofu!”

[You’re so kind! Thank you, human!]

Ling Feng smiled and gently scooped the Litwick into his arms.

“Then from now on, I look forward to working with you, Litwick.”

“Mofu~”

To Ling Feng’s surprise, the intangible spirit body of the Ghost-type Pokémon felt like a soft, squishy jelly—very pleasant to hold.

Moreover, hugging it didn’t feel cold at all; instead, it felt warm.

…Uh.

Warm is warm, but why am I suddenly feeling hot?

Ling Feng instinctively looked down.

Oh, that’s why—his clothes were on fire.

Huh?

Wait a minute?

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On fire??

The next moment, a scream echoed through the rental apartment.

“It’s on fire! Aaaaaah!!!”

...

Five minutes later.

Ling Feng dumped a pile of ashes into the trash bin, now wearing an old patched-up shirt, and sighed softly.

He had forgotten that Litwick was also a Fire-type Pokémon; that flame on its head was no mere decoration.

Looks like next time he wanted to hold Litwick, he’d have to buy some fireproof clothes...

And he’d better watch out for Litwick too, or else the house would really catch fire someday.

He turned and saw Litwick already asleep, curled up in a corner.

Its flame had dimmed considerably, reduced to a tiny flicker.

“This must be exhaustion…”

Ling Feng thought for a moment and decided not to disturb it.

He had wanted to ask where Litwick came from, but for now, it was better to let the little one rest.

As for himself…

He sat back down at his computer.

The software showed that sales of Pokémon Emerald had reached 2,125 copies, successfully breaking past the 2,000 mark.

But the number hadn’t increased for several minutes.

Ling Feng was not surprised.

According to the system’s prompts, Cynthia’s livestream had likely ended, since he wasn’t receiving many Emotion Points, only sporadic increments.

These probably came from the over two thousand players who had purchased and were playing the game.

After the platform’s cut, his earnings amounted to a little over 450,000 yen.

His financial worries were naturally gone.

But from the moment he obtained the system, Ling Feng’s goal for making games had evolved beyond mere profit.

He wanted everyone in this world to experience the joy that Pokémon games could bring!

Of course, torment was a kind of joy too—pain mixed with pleasure.

Refocusing, Ling Feng began to consider his current situation.

His immediate goal was to fully complete “Pokémon Emerald” and officially release it.

He had many ideas that the system’s current basic modules couldn’t realize.

He opened the system panel and browsed the module interface.

Even just the basic modules were numerous—endless as far as the eye could see.

Modules like [Card Game Module] and [Roguelike Game Module], which increased production speed and quality for specific game types.

Or modules like [Ultra HD Blu-ray Graphics Module] and [Professional Music Configuration Module], which enhanced game expressiveness and overall quality.

These modules cost around 300 points each, and given his current status, buying two soon wouldn’t be an issue.

But his eyes fixed resolutely on one particular module.

[Intelligent Module (Basic)]

[Description: Adds advanced AI to all units in your game, including NPCs and Pokémon, enabling intelligent actions based on actual situations.]

[Price: 500 points]

This module was far more expensive than other basic ones, but Ling Feng’s gaze remained fixed on it.

What was most important when making a Pokémon game in the Pokémon world?

—Authenticity!

Only by making players feel they truly entered a real world could they immerse themselves fully.

Those Pokémon and NPCs wouldn’t be mere mechanical data reacting blindly, but living, breathing beings.

Games are virtual by nature.

But a great game can make you forget that while playing, as if you really stepped into another world.

—That was the greatest charm of gaming!

In his previous life, playing Pokémon handheld games, Ling Feng had regretted not being able to truly interact or chat with his Pokémon partners, to feel their joys and sorrows, to live with them.

Even after crossing into the Pokémon world, he realized reality was still harsh.

Not everyone had the conditions to become a trainer, to travel with Pokémon and climb to the pinnacle.

It required time, resources, courage, and talent.

Ordinary people, even if able to live with a Pokémon in the city, were already fortunate.

Most spent their lives in fixed cities, doing fixed jobs, barely supporting themselves and their families, let alone affording more Pokémon expenses.

No matter how much they loved Pokémon as children, life’s pressures would dull their edges, gradually losing themselves in the cold city.

Therefore, every game Ling Feng created from now on would offer all Pokémon lovers a chance!

Perhaps a chance to grow, battle, and reach the world’s summit with Pokémon!

Or a chance to live, bond, and become friends with Pokémon!

Or a chance to travel and witness the strange and colorful world alongside Pokémon!

He believed these chances were like flickering flames.

One day, these flames would ignite the entire world!

They would remind everyone of what they truly loved deep in their hearts!