Chapter 8: Marvelous Tree’s Outing (Today’s Update Is Late Because Something Came Up)

Although she had already realized this, Iono knew there was no turning back. The game was bought, and she had already promised her viewers she would play it; there was no choice but to see it through.

She sighed softly to herself and refocused her attention on the game.

"Is it the classic WASD movement..."

Iono tested the keys and steered her character out of the truck. The visuals before her made her eyes widen in surprise. She had played plenty of pixel art games, but the graphics in this one were incredibly refined—they could even be described as a work of art!

The live chat was filled with exclamations of awe.

[The art style of a pixel game is this good? Are you sure this was made by an indie developer?]
[This looks better than the art in most games in my library... No wonder this game is so expensive!]
[But if it’s just pretty, that doesn’t really matter, right? The most important thing about a game is whether it’s fun to play!]
....

Iono followed the game's flow and quickly completed the introductory quest: selecting a Pokémon from the grass above the town to help Professor Birch defeat the Poochyena. After a brief moment of thought, she chose Torchic.

When she returned to the laboratory with Professor Birch, and the professor offered to give her a starter Pokémon, a prompt popped up in front of Iono.

[Please note: Smart Interaction mode is now unlocked!]
[After pressing the "E" key, players can use voice or text input to interact. You may interact with any character or Pokémon in the game.]

Iono raised an eyebrow at the prompt.

"Oh? Are they serious?"

She felt it was unlikely, but harboring a "try it and see" mindset, she pressed the E key while facing Professor Birch and spoke into the microphone.

"Hello, Professor Birch. I would like an Electric-type Pokémon as my starter, is that possible?"

Iono didn't hold much hope that her wish would be granted. It was clear that the Pokémon selection in this game was fixed; otherwise, the game wouldn't have just presented her with the three standard starters to choose from.

However, to her surprise, Professor Birch nodded, and his voice replied:

"Oh? You like Electric-type Pokémon? You should have said so! I do have a special Pokémon here."

"But if you want to take her, you have to tell me why you like Electric-type Pokémon."

Iono paused, stunned.

"Eh? Is it actually an AI?"

She thought about it for a second, then shook her head slightly.

"No... it must have triggered a keyword, right? Like the developer set 'wanting an Electric-type' as a keyword, which made the professor trigger this dialogue..."

Even so, to pull off something like this, the developer had truly put in the effort. As it stood, the game was performing far better than she had expected.

Meanwhile, the viewers shared a similar sentiment.

[These must be pre-recorded answers. As long as they prepare enough answers, it’s basically an AI 'lite' version, haha.]
[+1]
[Even so, it’s not true AI coverage. This is false advertising; they’d be sued in a heartbeat!]
...

At the same time, facing the question Professor Birch had just posed, Iono’s expression became serious. Though this was a virtual game, her love for Electric-type Pokémon was real.

She pressed the E key and replied, word for word:

"Because I feel that Electric-type Pokémon are full of passion. They have the speed and power of lightning, and being with them gives me endless energy!"

The next moment, Professor Birch’s voice replied, accompanied by the sound of applause.

"Excellent! I didn't expect you to have such a passion for Electric-type Pokémon!"

"Actually, I see them the same way. And I'll let you in on a secret: my favorite Pokémon is Pikachu, because I think their lightning-bolt-shaped tails are just too cute... I can’t resist them."

Hearing the voice from the game, Iono suddenly realized something.

Wait!

If these answers were also pre-set by the developer... then they had been far too thorough! Furthermore, for some reason, she didn't feel like she was talking to a fake NPC; it felt more like talking to a real Pokémon Professor.

Could it be that these NPCs actually possessed independent consciousness?

Her mind raced. The best way to verify this was to ask an absurd, completely irrelevant question—something a developer couldn't possibly account for, and something a generic answer couldn't handle!

She made up her mind and pressed the E key.

"Professor Birch, on a side note, which do you think tastes better: miso soup or curry rice? Please tell me the reason, if you can."

As soon as she said this, the professor’s expression in the game seemed to freeze for a moment, and his voice followed with a hint of confusion.

"Huh? Why would you suddenly ask a question like that?"

"...But if I must answer, I think curry is better. Also, potatoes and carrots are essential ingredients."

"Besides, I don't like adding chicken; I prefer beef. That's the only way to make a truly fragrant stewed curry!"

This answer made Iono’s eyes widen in sheer shock.

It was real!

The NPCs in this game had truly achieved smart AI coverage! Otherwise, it would be impossible to answer her question like that. But how was this possible? How could a pixel game of only a few hundred megabytes pull this off?

Meanwhile, the viewers had also realized that something was off.

[Holy crap, wait a minute, is this actually an AI?]
[Yeah, if it were just pre-set answers and keywords, it would never be this detailed!]
[Whoa, are you serious??]
[Where’s that guy who said they were going to sue them for false advertising? Come out!]
...

As Iono and her viewers were stunned, Professor Birch’s voice pulled everyone’s attention back.

"Anyway, since you want an Electric-type Pokémon, I thought about it, and it seems there is indeed one here in the lab that would make a great starter."

As he spoke, he moved to a machine, operated it a few times, and a Poké Ball with a lightning bolt emblem was teleported over.

"Take a look, does this little one suit your tastes?"

Professor Birch opened the Poké Ball. A flash of white light appeared, and a Pokémon covered in pale white, wool-like fluff, resembling a sheep, appeared before her.

Though it was a pixelated image, it looked vivid and incredibly cute.

It was a Mareep, an Electric-type Pokémon. Though it looked cute, the wool all over its body could store electricity, which it could discharge in a burst when necessary!

The moment she saw the Mareep, Iono’s eyes lit up. This was a Pokémon she had never raised or encountered before!

"It's the one! Thank you, Professor!"

...

After leaving the lab with her starter, Iono tried talking to several other NPCs in the town, which confirmed her conclusion—the game really had achieved full AI coverage... even for the Pokémon!

When Iono entered the command, "Pet the wool on Mareep’s head," the character in the game actually squatted down and reached out to pet the Mareep. The latter squinted its eyes, emitting happy sounds and enjoying Iono’s touch. It even ran over to nuzzle her ankle, with heart symbols appearing above its head.

The live chat exploded at the sight.

[Holy cow!! You can do that too?? With this level of interaction, how is it any different from reality?]
[Didn't Dream Factory make a Pokémon interaction game before? Why does this Emerald game feel even better than theirs?]
[Are we sure this is just a little pixel game?]
[The freedom is insane!!]
....

Having plenty of gaming experience, Iono knew exactly what this level of performance meant. She had already decided in her heart that this was definitely not some small-time indie game, but a title secretly produced by a massive gaming corporation with the scale of Dream Factory!

Though she didn't know why they were trying to be so secretive, she was becoming increasingly excited about the content of the game!

Next, she spent a full two minutes petting her sheep at home before finally leaving Littleroot Town to start her journey. Unlike the playthrough she had seen from Cynthia, she didn't have to battle her "rival" at the top of the route; she simply went to find him and received the Pokédex together at the professor's lab.

By the way, Iono named her rival "Banana King."

Viewers who had watched Cynthia’s stream earlier immediately flooded the chat with questions.

[What’s going on? I was waiting for the rival to show the streamer the cruelty of the world... why didn't they fight?]
[Exactly, did they shadow-patch the game? Damn it, that’s what I was waiting for!]

The audience was naturally looking forward to the streamer hitting a difficult part and failing. Yet, to their disappointment, the "Banana King" didn't fight her!

Iono had already received the Pokédex and the running shoes from the professor. As she opened the map and headed toward the next city, she looked a bit regretful.

"Even though this game is turn-based, I think it’s quite interesting."

"I wonder when I'll get to battle other trainers..."

However, as soon as she finished speaking, a grayish-brown mist suddenly exploded from the bushes around the corner, completely obscuring the screen.

Within the mist, three silhouettes slowly appeared.

"Huh?? Is this some kind of Easter egg?"

Iono was filled with curiosity.

The next moment, passionate and dynamic orchestral music suddenly rang in her ears. A man’s voice followed.

"I thought I heard someone ask a question, right?"

In the mist, a blue-haired man in a uniform stepped forward, holding a rose in his mouth.

"Since you’ve asked with such sincerity!!"

A red-haired woman stepped forward, tossing her long hair with incomparable flair.

"Then we shall answer you with mercy."

Against a backdrop of a brilliant galaxy, the two danced in turn, like an epic stage play!

"To prevent the world from being destroyed!"
"To protect the peace of the world!"
"To denounce the evils of love and truth!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that’s right!"

A Meowth with a gold coin on its forehead poked its head out, wearing a smug smile as it delivered the final line.

At that moment, the entire live chat fell into a dead silence!

Seconds later, the comments flooded in.

[????]
[What is this??]
[Uh, why do I want to laugh... but also feel like this is kind of awesome?]
[Wait, Team Rocket? Isn't that the massive dark organization from Kanto? The one that was wiped out by the League two years ago?]
[Are you sure this is Team Rocket? Why do they feel like comedians?]
[Tsk, tsk, the developer actually dared to use Team Rocket as NPCs—should I call them creative, or just plain reckless?]

It was no wonder the audience reacted this way. Although Team Rocket had largely disappeared under the suppression of the League in recent years, they remained the largest dark organization in the world, bar none. In the history of gaming, no one had dared to include them as villains because, without a doubt, it was a direct provocation to Team Rocket!

Yet, this game had stuffed three of them in... calling themselves members of Team Rocket.

Could these three really be considered actual Team Rocket members? And wasn't the company that made this game afraid of retaliation?

However, at this moment, Iono’s attention was elsewhere. Her eyes were shining as if she had seen a rare treasure!

"Wow! Did that Meowth just talk?"

As she said this, the chat finally snapped out of it.

[Oh yeah! That Meowth can talk!]
[What’s there to be surprised about? Isn't this a game? It’s normal for Pokémon to talk in games.]
[Exactly, it’s not like there’s actually a Meowth in real life that can talk. If there were, I’d eat it!]
..

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in a dark underground warehouse.

"Achoo!!"

A Meowth sitting on a sofa let out a violent sneeze. It reached out a paw, wiped its face, and looked delighted.

"Huh?"

"...Could it be that the Boss finally remembered me, Meowth?"