Among all the Pokémon ROM hacks, if you asked Kairos which one he liked most, he would definitely choose Pokémon Ultimate Emerald without hesitation.
After all, at least half of his childhood single-player gaming time was spent on this game.
But if you asked which game's storyline left the deepest impression on him, it would definitely be "Dark Phantom."
The rich and deep storyline of this game brought tremendous shock to his young self back then.
So if focusing on storyline, Dark Phantom would definitely be the best choice.
And if virtual reality technology could be used to present these storylines, allowing players to immerse themselves in them, the impact and shock it could bring would surely be no less than when Pokémon Ultimate Emerald appeared before their eyes.
The most crucial point was that Kairos could even adjust and modify the original storyline of Dark Phantom, making it even richer and more excellent.
Is this what it feels like to stand on the shoulders of giants?
Kairos couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If only he had these conditions in his previous life, how wonderful that would have been.
He probably could have created works that would shock the world long ago.
But these were just idle thoughts. Kairos was quite satisfied with his current situation.
He shook his head slightly and turned his gaze to a corner of the living room, shouting in that direction: "Gengar!"
The next moment, a mass of deep purple mist instantly passed through the wall and appeared before him, revealing somewhat helpless deep red eyes.
"How's it going? How's your learning coming along?"
Kairos reached out to touch his incorporeal head, immediately feeling a cold sensation in his hand.
He asked.
Gengar responded with a nod.
Obviously, as a Pokémon capable of coming up with the idea to venture into the human world, his intelligence level was quite high.
Learning the knowledge Kairos had given him was more than sufficient - after all, those were just the basics of game development.
"Very good. Next, I'll give you some story concepts. Follow the tutorial and make it into a game. Don't worry too much, there will be a force to help you."
"I'll come check on your progress tonight to see how you're doing."
Kairos said as he handed a small notebook to Gengar. This contained the storyline content and level design he had recorded for Pokémon Ultimate Emerald after Mt. Chimney.
This segment wasn't particularly interesting in the original game.
Simply put, it was about the protagonist infiltrating Team Aqua and Team Magma's bases, challenging their various grunts, and exploring their secrets.
The task of designing the challenge content and maps for these two bases naturally fell to Gengar.
Regarding Kairos's instructions, Gengar took the notebook from his hand, but kept a long face the entire time, looking rather reluctant.
Kairos quickly noticed this and smiled, patting his head again.
"I know this isn't what you want to do, but I promise, if you perform well, I'll grill some ribs for you tonight, and your Pokéblock rations for the next week will be doubled."
As soon as these words were spoken, Gengar's expression changed in an instant, just like a quick-change in Kabuki.
He looked infinitely more spirited than before, even straightening up toward Kairos and trying his best to give a standard salute with his little stubby hands.
"Gengar!"
[Mission will be completed!]
After saying this, he directly took the notebook Kairos had given him and ran to another room with a computer.
"This little glutton..."
Kairos stood up and looked around, finding that Chandelure seemed to have disappeared somewhere again. He could only shake his head slightly and sit on the sofa to take out his laptop.
Simple content like map design and level generation could naturally be left to Gengar.
But those two battles against the leaders of Team Rocket and Team Aqua naturally couldn't be presented as they were in the original, and needed his own design.
Once players completed these two story segments, next would be heading to the next town to challenge the Psychic-type gym, and then trigger the most crucial storyline moment...
He really wondered what the players' reactions would be when they saw the battle of the three legendary Pokémon. Just thinking about it was rather exciting.
...
The above was everything that happened on Kairos's side during the day and night while Cynthia was unconscious.
And now, let's return to this moment.
Sinnoh Region.
Garchomp's majestic form broke through the sky's cloud layer, landing precisely in front of a villa atop a mountain peak.
Cynthia jumped directly down from Garchomp's back.
Even though her body hadn't fully recovered yet, at this moment she couldn't care about that. Her mind was filled with only one thing - reclaiming her first place position on the game's leaderboard.
The moment Garchomp successfully mega evolved in the Regirock Cave, she hadn't even fully processed what had happened.
During the flight back on Garchomp's back, Cynthia clearly realized one thing in her heart - if the Rare Candy's power boost to Spiritomb had already made her feel surprised and shocked, then this time, the Mega Stone and Mega Evolution appearing before her eyes had completely stirred up a violent tsunami in her heart.
All of this was actually real!
The rewards from a game could actually affect the real world like this!
She couldn't help but reach out and grip the pendant hanging from her chest - the Key Stone.
On the way here, she had already clearly asked Garchomp where this thing came from.
The answer was that it had been obtained from the desk in the study.
And when she had claimed the game reward that day, she had also received it at the desk in the study.
When she summoned the game's reward claiming interface, "Mega Evolution Gift Set" was clearly displayed at the top.
So this was the reward the game had given her that day.
She just didn't know why she hadn't received it immediately at first.
But that wasn't important.
What was important was... this world was probably about to undergo tremendous changes!
And the reason for these changes was the game she was playing - Pokemon Emerald!
Now, maintaining her number one position on the leaderboard wasn't just about learning about Rayquaza from the game's mysterious creator.
It was about... relying on this game to obtain more powerful items and rewards beyond ordinary imagination, to explore everything that corresponded between the game and the real world!
Thinking of this, Cynthia strode forward and pushed open her room door.
However, when she saw the scene before her, she froze.
Because a familiar figure was standing right in front of her.
It was Caitlin!
She looked up into Cynthia's eyes and snorted with displeasure.
"I have to ask... Miss Cynthia, don't you have anything you want to explain?"
Seeing the familiar figure before her, Cynthia couldn't help but pause.
Why would Caitlin suddenly appear here?
But the next instant, she immediately realized - she had probably learned from the nurse that she had returned home, so Caitlin had directly used Teleport to come over.
Since the villa was rented to her by Caitlin, knowing the location was natural. It was just that Caitlin had never visited like this before.
At this moment, Cynthia suddenly realized that rushing off immediately after waking up, leaving the hospital without saying goodbye, was indeed a bit hasty.
Caitlin seemed to still be lying in the next room over.
So she took a deep breath and said: "Sorry, I did have some particularly urgent matters to handle. I should have told you before leaving."
"It might be a bit complicated to explain. I was a bit scattered at the time, my apologies."
However, upon hearing this, Caitlin shook her head, her calm gaze carrying a hint of inquiry.
"No, you know that's not what I'm talking about."
"What I want to know is what exactly happened between you and Garchomp in front of Regirock back there."
She took a deep breath and added: "How exactly did you do that?"
Caitlin tried to control her emotions, but she found that her voice was actually trembling slightly at this moment.
There was no helping it.
The power that Cynthia and Garchomp had unleashed together at that time was truly unforgettable.
Even in the face of her powerful psychic abilities, that power had surged like mountains, momentarily leaving her unable to breathe.
And as events proved, just as Caitlin had thought, after completing that special transformation, Cynthia and Garchomp had actually dominated Regirock in battle. That was a legendary Pokémon!
Even her psychic powers could only be completely absorbed in its presence, yet it was so easily crushed by this Garchomp, which was enough to prove just how incredible that power was.
That had far exceeded the strength a Champion-level Pokémon should possess, and had similarly stepped into that so-called legendary realm - the possibility that countless people pursued their entire lives but could never breakthrough or reach, yet had been realized through Cynthia...
Hearing Caitlin's voice at this moment, Cynthia's expression immediately changed, and she glanced at Garchomp beside her.
"Well... if we're going to talk about this, it might get even more complicated."
After a long pause, she still sighed and waved to Caitlin.
"Let's go sit in the living room and talk."
...
Five minutes later.
"So, you're telling me you got some kind of reward from a game that let your Garchomp undergo an unprecedented... what was it—some kind of evolution?"
Caitlin sat on the living room sofa, leaning forward with an incredulous expression on her face. The milk tea in front of her remained untouched.
Cynthia's description had completely captured her attention, making her unable to focus on drinking tea, which was usually her favorite activity.
Cynthia appeared much more composed, lifting her tea for a sip and nodding slightly.
"Yes."
She had just detailed everything that had happened from when she first encountered Pokémon Emerald until now, as well as the Mega Stone she had obtained and the reason for the sudden evolution.
As she spoke, she directly placed both Garchomp's stone and the Key Stone on the table, handing them to Caitlin.
Caitlin picked up both items and examined them carefully.
Her psychic powers did indeed sense an unprecedented massive power from within them, and this power was exactly what Garchomp had emanated during the battle with Regirock in the cave... there was no mistake.
But even so, Caitlin still found it very difficult to believe this reality.
Obtaining such rewards from an electronic game sounded far too absurd.
But the problem was, standing before her was Cynthia, someone who would absolutely never lie.
Caitlin couldn't help but look up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.
"This is... even more unbelievable than when I suddenly discovered I had those incredible psychic powers as a child..."
Cynthia didn't respond, instead directly taking out another Poké Ball and releasing Spiritomb.
The entire living room's temperature immediately dropped several degrees. As a top-tier Champion-level Pokémon, even just sitting there, Spiritomb could cause such dramatic changes in the surroundings.
"Would you show her your abilities, please?"
Cynthia asked gently.
Spiritomb swayed slightly, and the next moment, a deep black domain accompanied by powerful pressure and aura instantly expanded throughout the entire living room. Even the tables, chairs, and sofa began to shake violently.
This was the completely new domain that Spiritomb had achieved after reaching this level.
Feeling the power before her, Caitlin once again widened her eyes.
Cynthia's Spiritomb was a Ghost-type Pokémon, and one she paid the most attention to, since Ghost-type had the closest relationship with her Psychic-type, being able to counter her type.
But in her memory, Spiritomb's strength had always been at the early Champion level, far inferior to Cynthia's ace Garchomp, and posed little threat when facing her own Pokémon.
This kind of domain... compared to the legendary Pokémon Regirock in the cave, it was still nothing, so she hadn't noticed this point at the time.
But now, standing personally in front of this domain, she suddenly realized how terrifying the power and pressure within it was.
Even her ace Pokémon Gardevoir would probably be suppressed by this domain, unable to break through.
This meant that this Spiritomb's strength had probably already reached the top Champion tier!
But how was this possible?
Just last month when she sparred with Cynthia, Spiritomb's strength was still at the early Champion level!
In her surprise, Caitlin's mind raced and she quickly reached the most likely conclusion. She looked up to meet Cynthia's gaze.
"This is also... a reward from the game?"
Cynthia's affirmative nod was her response.