Night had fallen, darkness blanketing the sky.
In the Kanto region, inside Kairos's villa, he had finally wrapped up his work.
At this moment, he glanced at the final game content now running smoothly and let out a long breath.
Honestly, this section of the storyline had been quite challenging to create.
The workload was no less than when he'd made the battle of the three legendary birds, and it was entirely original content he'd added himself.
But the end result, at least in his own eyes, was pretty satisfying.
He sank deep into his computer chair, the soreness from continuous high-intensity work spreading from his shoulders all the way down to his fingertips.
Alright, time to eat something good, rest a bit, and then get ready for bed.
Just as he braced himself against the armrests, preparing to push himself up, a pale blue system interface, visible only to him, appeared without warning before his eyes, accompanied by a brief, crisp notification sound.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. The emotional threshold of special character "Ethan" has broken through to LV2!!!]
[Please prepare to claim your reward!]
Kairos's half-stretched yawn instantly froze, his body stiffening mid-motion as his gaze unconsciously fell on those lines of black text on the glowing screen.
Special character Ethan?
Emotional threshold level breaking through to level two?
Wait, hold on. Who is this person again?
After a brief moment of thought, Kairos suddenly came to his senses.
The name Ethan was clearly the name of the male protagonist from Pokémon Gold/Silver in that other world from his memories. Could it be that in this real Pokémon world, there actually existed a trainer with the same name?
Well, that made sense. After all, this was basically a parallel world.
But what was this sudden emotional threshold level breakthrough all about?
When did this guy even play his game? He'd never seen him before!
Before he could sort out this bizarre situation, another notification sound rang out, and the text on the screen refreshed.
[Notification: This breakthrough is a 'Special Bond Breakthrough,' tied to the key plot points 'Life-or-Death Choice' and 'Rebuilding Beliefs.' Playing the event record now…]
Special bond breakthrough?
And it involved life or death choices and Rebuilding Beliefs?
This sounds incredibly dramatic, so what exactly happened?
The corner of Kairos's mouth twitched.
Fortunately, the dynamic footage labeled as the associated event record soon began playing automatically before his eyes.
The image quality was crystal clear with a strong sense of immersion, just like the CG he created in his games.
At this moment, Kairos felt as if he were standing in some corner of that chaotic street at the time.
From the sky tearing open with a strange purple void, to those Nihilego madly attacking the crowds...
And that young trainer named Ethan, from his initial panicked flight to his eventual return against the tide of fleeing people because of a neighboring mother and daughter's cries for help, right up to being pushed to unleash the overwhelming power of Mega Evolution with his Charizard in a desperate situation...
Every frame, especially the transformation in Ethan's eyes from fear to determination, and his Charizard's stance of continuing to protect despite being covered in wounds, was extremely clear. It made Kairos's furrowed brow gradually relax.
The dynamic footage finished playing, and the screen gradually dimmed before finally disappearing into the air.
Kairos maintained his original posture for quite a while before he recovered. Honestly, the information in that video was a bit overwhelming.
However, in that video just now, he'd also seen Ethan's situation before the battle, his family background, and finally his determination to continue on the path of being a trainer.
Looked at that way, the ending turned out pretty well.
Initially, creating this game might have been more about the system tasks and establishing himself in this unfamiliar world.
But witnessing firsthand how a game he'd made could intervene so profoundly in a trainer's life and save many precious lives, this peculiar sense of achievement... was actually pretty good.
Perhaps this was also some kind of meaning he'd truly hoped to achieve deep down through these games.
However, after that sense of comfort, another emotion also surfaced.
Kairos smacked his lips.
The Ultra Wormhole, something he'd arranged in the game, had actually appeared in this world.
This was definitely not a good thing, at least not for him.
After all, Ultra Wormholes would only make the entire world more dangerous and chaotic.
Who knows, one day it might just appear in Cerulean City, and then it would be nothing but trouble.
As for Ethan's drastically transformed Charizard Mega Evolving into a black Charizard in front of everyone and the subsequent shockwaves that displaying such power might trigger, this thought only flashed through his mind before he couldn't be bothered to worry about it anymore.
Because Kairos knew that with the game developed to this extent and rewards already distributed twice, the Emerald game and its inherent extraordinary properties definitely couldn't be hidden anymore.
But anyway, with the system helping to conceal his identity, he wasn't too anxious about his own safety.
If the League could trace the game back to him, they would have already shown up at his door long ago.
Just as he was thinking this over, the system interface appeared once more.
The border pulsed with a burst of brilliant gold, and the notification chime sounded unusually triumphant.
[Ding! A key story character—under the game's guidance—has made a pivotal, life-altering decision. Awarding the Host: SS-rank item "Special Commendation Box" ×1!]
A… commendation box? As an extra reward?
Something new?
And it's SS-rank?
Kairos's interest was immediately piqued, along with a few parts curiosity and anticipation.
This seemed to be the first time he'd received an SS-rank item from the system, right?
He immediately used his will to retrieve that delicate treasure chest emitting a soft white glow from the system storage space.
The chest's material felt very cold to the touch, and its surface had subtle red halos flowing like water ripples, exuding an aura of extraordinary nobility and mystery.
He directly reached out and opened the box. In the next instant, brilliant rainbow light burst forth!!
When the radiance faded, only a single red feather lay quietly inside the box.
Its entire body flowed with a rainbow-like iridescent halo, and under his gaze, that halo seemed to breathe gently like something alive.
Even more wondrous, when he held his breath and focused all his attention on this feather, he seemed to be able to see inside it countless extremely tiny points of light brimming with vigorous life energy.
It simply lay there quietly, yet an indescribable, sacred, and warm power naturally emanated from it, causing much of Kairos's fatigue to dissipate, leaving only an immense sense of peace and tranquility.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on obtaining special item: Ho-Oh's Rainbow Feather (SS+)!]
The system notification sound rang out, followed immediately by more detailed explanatory text.
[Item: Ho-Oh's Rainbow Feather (SS+)]
[Description:]
A gift that transcends time and space—a blessing from Ho-Oh, the symbol of life and hope. Even as an experiential version, this feather still carries a genuine trace of Ho-Oh's sacred power.
[Effects:]
Nirvana Protection:
If the Host receives fatal damage, the feather activates automatically, forming an absolute defensive barrier that blocks all harm for one minute.
At the same time, a holy projection of Ho-Oh descends, delivering a full-power strike infused with the force of life at the source of the threat.
Rainbow Covenant:
After Nirvana Protection triggers, the feather's sacred power is temporarily drained, and it enters a dormant charging state.
The feather does not disappear. The Host can use it as a token to seek out Ho-Oh. Earning Ho-Oh's recognition will allow the feather to be recharged.
Life Affinity (Passive):
Holding or merging with the feather subtly boosts the Host's natural affinity and starting favorability with Fire-type Pokémon.
Most Fire-types will find the Host easier to trust and bond with.
[Note:]
A symbol of hope, a miracle of life. Possessing this feather means you have brushed against the domain of a Legendary Pokémon. Wield it wisely.
"Nirvana Protection… absolute barrier… Ho-Oh's phantom counterattack…"
After reading through everything, Kairos couldn't help but widen his eyes dramatically.
Ho-Oh's feather... isn't this a bit too powerful?
It seems like the problem that was just troubling him has been directly solved! At least now he has a safety guarantee when seeking out Legendary Pokémon.
But Kairos quickly calmed down. According to the system's description, this thing could apparently only be used once, and after using it, it would need to be recharged.
Moreover, with just this feather alone, he might not necessarily be able to establish a stable connection with other Legendary Pokémon.
One protective opportunity lasting one minute definitely wouldn't be enough.
And to recharge it, he'd have to go find Ho-Oh itself.
Ho-Oh...
The good news was that, as far as he remembered, Ho-Oh wasn't like Groudon or Kyogre, those "wipe out the world first, ask questions never" kinds of Legendaries.
Most of the time, Ho-Oh was a bringer of life and beauty.
So in theory… it should fall into the category of Legendary Pokémon that were relatively easy to communicate with, right?
So, how about... since his resources were still fairly abundant right now, he directly buy some clues about Ho-Oh's whereabouts from the Legendary Pokémon Compendium?
If worst came to worst, just checking the price wouldn't hurt either. After all, he had so many emotion points on hand right now. Not spending them would be a waste.
With a thought, that book, emanating a mysterious aura, the Legendary Pokémon Compendium, appeared in his hand.
The deep golden cover felt warm and smooth to the touch, with starry sky-like markings slowly flowing across it.
He took a deep breath, with a few parts anticipation, and opened this weighty tome.
When the words "Ho-Oh" floated through his mind, the blank pages immediately rippled with wave-like halos.
The light patterns quickly converged, sketching out in the center of the page the outline of Ho-Oh soaring with wings spread, radiating seven-colored brilliance, incredibly lifelike.
Below the image, several lines of concise text continuously emerged, arranged clearly:
[Legendary Name: Ho-Oh]
[Status: Unknown (No effective connection established)]
[Information Unlock Level: Basic/Tracking]
Kairos's gaze fell on the [Tracking] option. He concentrated his mind and used his will to select those two words.
The light patterns on the page suddenly changed. The original image and text about Ho-Oh faded, and new, more prominent text appeared.
[Initiate tracking of "Ho-Oh's" current location or recent reliable activity clues]
[Guidance context required. Payment required: Emotion Points x 10,000]
[Confirm? [Yes]/[No]]
Ten... ten thousand points?!
Holy crap? It costs this much?
Kairos felt like his brain had short-circuited.
You have to understand, he'd accumulated for so long and currently only had 30,000 emotion points in his possession.
Yet to purchase a single clue about Ho-Oh would directly consume a full third of that.
By comparison, the price for Moltres only required 3,000 emotion points. This was directly more than three times that amount!
However, thinking it over carefully, Kairos quickly realized that perhaps the number of points the Legendary Pokémon Compendium required to obtain clues about Legendary Pokémon was linked to the corresponding Legendary Pokémon's level and strength.
Compared to Ho-Oh, Moltres... naturally had no basis for comparison.
But this book... really dares to charge such prices...
Thinking it through carefully, he didn't necessarily need to rush to find Ho-Oh right now.
Besides, those previous problems still haven't been resolved yet.
So Kairos decisively selected "No."
The text on the page dissipated like a receding tide. Ho-Oh's magnificent seven-colored image reappeared, but soon dimmed as well, ultimately reverting to the white light flowing across the blank page.
"Forget it, forget it."
Kairos closed the compendium and returned it to the system space, shaking his head slightly.
No matter how you looked at it, this feather was absolutely a genuinely good item, and this time, he'd really hit the jackpot.
This feeling of reaping rewards made his nerves, which had been tense from work today, relax quite a bit, and his mood improved as well.
He carefully took Ho-Oh's feather out of the treasure chest and held it in his hand.
The feather felt very light and continuously emitted a warm and comfortable radiance.
Just as Kairos was preparing to store it in the system space, the feather transformed into a gentle, non-glaring golden stream of light and silently merged into his body, leaving only a faint, barely perceptible warm connection in the depths of his consciousness.
This feeling was really a first. Honestly, it was quite wondrous for Kairos. All he could say was, as expected of an SS-rank item.
With a thought, the system panel appeared before him once more.
His remaining emotion points were still 30,000.
Clearly, after opening the Legendary Pokémon Compendium, he didn't necessarily have to pay the points, but could choose to cancel, like he just did. This made Kairos breathe a sigh of relief.
Seeing the huge balance on the screen and thinking about the new item he'd just gotten, Kairos couldn't help but smile.
Bit by bit, he really was getting richer.
More importantly, tomorrow the new game would finally settle its accounts. That long-delayed main quest reward should finally be within reach.
"Alright then."
Kairos pushed himself up from the chair, stretched his stiff limbs, and called toward the dark corner of the room, "Come on out, Gengar, Chandelure.
No need to lurk there.
We're heading to the city center tonight for a proper feast!"
Gengar: 0 0?
A feast? What feast?
Isn't the stuff we eat at home already basically a feast?
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones