Let you make a game, what the hell is Pokemon?.

Chapter 172 Watari's Exploration of the Ruins, Giovanni's Reflections

After finishing his thoughts, Du controlled his character and stepped into the interior of the desert ruins.

The light on the screen dimmed instantly, as if jumping from day to night in a flash, leaving everything in complete darkness. He immediately had his character cast Flash, and a soft yet bright light shone from the fruit-eating worm's body, barely illuminating the surrounding darkness and revealing a small area in front of it.

What comes into view is an ancient, rapidly weathering stone wall covered with mottled and illegible ancient symbols and faint traces of murals.

This place looks like it hasn't been visited in a very long time.

What gave him the most chills was the eeriness of the place. It was deathly quiet. Apart from the faint sound of his own footsteps as he moved his character, there was no other sound at all. There wasn't even the rustling noise that was common among wild Pokémon in the game. The background music was also quite eerie and tense.

This unusual silence made Du subconsciously more vigilant, and he became more careful in his actions.

The interior of the ruins was much more complex than he had imagined, with many branching paths, making it like a maze.

He could only rely on his instincts and randomly choose a direction to walk forward, resulting in several dead ends where there was nothing but a few particularly large rocks and empty walls. Occasionally, he could find some small items scattered on the ground in a corner, which turned out to be either [Star Sand] or [PP Booster].

This is a very disappointing result.

Du curled his lip. These things might be worth some money or have some use, but they weren't what he had come all this way for.

He even began to suspect that Cynthia might have remembered the wrong place, or that... the ruins he had come to were not the same ones she had been to at all?
She had mentioned the stone slabs and symbols of the divine pillar, but after searching for a long time, all I found were broken stones; I hadn't even seen a decent stone slab.

But since he was already there, he wasn't giving up and continued to control his character, wandering around in the maze-like passages.

Finally, after traversing an exceptionally long, upward staircase, he reached the top of the tower.

The space here suddenly becomes much more open, looking like an ancient sacrificial hall, exuding a sense of vicissitude and antiquity.

The mysterious symbols carved on the surrounding walls were now more densely packed and seemed more complete. In the center of the hall stood a clearly man-made, raised stone platform, which looked anything but ordinary!
Finally found!
Du's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately moved his character closer.

Sure enough, just as the character approached the stone platform, a game notification popped up in the center of the screen: [There seems to be an ancient device here. Should we activate it?]

There's hope! Du's spirits lifted, and his earlier disappointment vanished. He quickly pressed the interaction button.

Several faint beams of light slowly emerged from the stone platform, connecting to several exceptionally thick stone pillars around the hall. Each pillar bore a symbol—a lightning bolt, a water droplet—that seemed to represent different attributes.

At the same time, a simple interface popped up, prompting you to light up these stone pillars in a specific order.

A puzzle? Watari tried clicking on a random number in a set order.

No response.

Isn't that wrong? He tried another common order of attribute counteraction.

Still no response.

The stone platform remained quiet and still, showing no respect whatsoever.

Du was at a loss. He manipulated his character to rotate the camera and carefully observed the dense symbols on the wall.

After looking at it for a while, he suddenly noticed that the outlines of some of the symbols seemed to be somewhat similar to the features of the Dragon-type Pokémon he was familiar with!

For example, one symbol looks a lot like the crystal on the neck of a Dratini or a Dragonair, while another resembles the curve of a Salamence's imposing wings.

Is it ordered according to symbols related to dragons?
With a try-it-out mentality, he arranged the lights in a certain order based on the strength of the "dragon-like" feeling that the symbols gave him.

When he lit the last stone pillar, the entire stone platform trembled violently, and then emitted a soft but dazzling light!

The light gradually converged, and a small pedestal rose up in the center of the stone platform.

On the pedestal, two gems of different colors, each containing a wondrous brilliance, were placed prominently. They appeared to be only the size of glass marbles, yet they exuded an astonishing aura.

At this moment, accompanied by cheerful music, game prompts popped up one after another in front of Wataru:

[I obtained the "Salamander Mega Evolution Stone"!]

[I obtained the "Gyarados Mega Evolution Stone"!]

It's a mega gem!!

And there are still two!

Du almost jumped up from his chair, his heart pounding with excitement.

Having had his previous experience, he was well aware of the value of this thing.

He quickly opened his backpack, selected the Salamence evolution stone that looked sharper and had red and blue patterns inside, and checked the description.

Salamence Mega Stone: A stone imbued with special power that resonates with its corresponding Pokémon, unleashing a power beyond evolution. It is proof of the bond between the Trainer and their Pokémon.

Looking at this description, Lance seemed to already see his Salamence transforming into Mega Salamence under the light of the evolution stone. Although he didn't know what it would look like after evolving, it would definitely be a more powerful form than normal evolution!
He could hardly wait to try it out right away.

He excitedly operated the controls, selecting the Salamence in his team, and then found the option to equip an evolution stone...

Just as his finger was about to press down, he suddenly stopped.

Wait a moment……

Something seems wrong?
Du's smile froze. He suddenly remembered something very, very important.

Mega Evolution requires more than just the Pokémon holding the corresponding Mega Stone; it seems like it also requires something else.

Uh... what was that called again?

Watari recalled the scene he had seen earlier.

That's right! Keystone!
The trainer needs to possess something called a "Key Stone"!

I only have Mega Stones for Pokémon, but not the Key Stone that a trainer uses to initiate evolution and generate resonance.

Having Mega Stones alone isn't enough now...
Du rubbed his forehead, somewhat speechless. Pure White's initial joy had been wasted.
Why does this crappy ruin only give Mega Stones and not Key Stones?
Brother, don't you know what it means to help others achieve their goals? Can't you give them all at once?
So now the problem has come full circle.

Where exactly should we find the Keystone?

Meanwhile, on the other side, Cynthia was looking at the Gracidia Flower in her backpack, which emitted a faint rainbow halo.

The effects of this flower are nothing short of miraculous, but there's something else related to it.

After thinking about it, she decided to contact the miraculous tree that had given her the seeds before.

She opened her contacts, found Qi Shu's number, and dialed it. The phone screen switched to the call screen, and the call was answered quickly.
"Hello? Sister Zhulan?" Qishu's lively voice came through.

“Yes, Qishu, about the Gracidia flower seeds you mentioned before,” Cynthia said, “I’ve grown them.”

"Huh?! Didn't you say you were going to find a very cold place? Where did you grow it? Tell me how you did it!" Qi Shu's voice suddenly rose.

“I got the seeds from an older sister in Violet City who loves growing flowers,” Cynthia explained simply. “As for where to plant them, they need to be at extremely low temperatures. I planted them in the Shallow Cave, where some special things happen once you go inside, and the temperature is very low.”

"Shallow Beach Cave...okok!" Qi Shu sounded excited. "Thank you, Sister Zhu Lan, I'll figure out how to get one right away!"

“You’re welcome. If you encounter that Pokémon again,” Cynthia paused, then added, “this flower seems to have strong healing properties; it should be able to heal his injuries and strengthen your bond.”

"Understood! I'll keep an eye on it!" Qi Shu replied earnestly, then quickly regained his cheerful tone, "By the way, Sister Zhu Lan, where are you now? Have you cleared the seventh gym?"

“I just arrived in Greenmoon City, and I’m going to challenge the gym here,” Cynthia answered truthfully.

"Wow, so fast! I reckon it'll take me a while to get to Green Ridge City. I can't fall too far behind you guys..."

"I'll contact you later, Sister Zhulan!"

After finishing his sentence, Qi Shu hung up the phone in a flurry.

Just as Cynthia put away her communicator and prepared to head towards the Mossdeep Gym, another call request came in; it was from Lance.

She pressed the answer button.

"Cynthia!" Lance's voice sounded a little urgent. "I have a question for you. How did you get that Keystone?"

"Keystones?" Cynthia found the question a bit odd. "NPCs in the game's story will naturally give them to you. Don't you have any?"

"No!" Lance's tone was full of helplessness. "Nobody here can give me any! And I just went to the desert ruins, but I didn't see any Regirock ruins. I did get two Mega Stones, though!" He added, "And they were Salamence and Gyarados."

"Hmm?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking for a moment.

"It seems that the storylines we trigger in the game do indeed lead to different outcomes. Perhaps the storylines and items you encounter are different for players who chose the initial three starter characters and for players like you who didn't."

She paused, then realized it was actually a good thing: "This is good, because we can gather more diverse information and gain a more comprehensive understanding of various aspects."

"That makes sense," Wataru seemed to accept the explanation, but there was still a hint of frustration in his voice. After all, he had Mega Stones but couldn't use them, which was quite frustrating.

“Oh, right,” Cynthia remembered the important matter, “Speaking of which, have you ever heard of Team Plasma, either in the game or outside?”

"Team Plasma?" Wataru paused, then thought carefully. "No, I've never heard of them. Is it a new organization in the game?"

“Yes,” Cynthia’s voice became more serious, “I have compiled a report on what happened at the Shallow Cave and submitted it to the League, suggesting that they investigate further. After all, it involves the Ultimate Cave, so we can’t be careless. Hopefully, we can find some useful information in the real world.”

"Understood, I'll keep an eye out," Lance replied, then seemed to remember something and reminded him, "By the way, if you want to catch Dragon-type Pokémon, you can go to Meteor Falls. That's where I caught Bagon. It seems like Goomy also spawns there. Although it's low-level, it eventually evolves into a Dragon-type."

"Meteor Falls? Okay, I've got it. I'll consider it."

Cynthia responded.

"However, I've been trying to build a rain team lineup... Okay, I'll talk to you now, I'm going to challenge the Mossdeep Gym."

"Mossdeep Gym?" Lance paused for a moment, then immediately recalled the fear of being dominated by that brother and sister and Mega Gardevoir, and unpleasant memories flooded his mind.

"Cynda, just a heads up, that gym is really tough to challenge. It's different from the other gyms we've been to. It's doubles battles, and their teamwork is excellent. Also..."

Wataru gave Cynthia a brief overview of the gym's layout.

"I understand."

After hearing this, Cynthia seemed a little surprised and nodded.

"I'll give it a try first, and then I'll contact you."

After saying that, she hung up the phone, turned her gaze to the uniquely designed Green Ridge Dojo in front of her, and, controlling her character, walked in without hesitation.

A new gym challenge has begun.

Meanwhile, at the Rockets' secret base, Giovanni had just finished a tough battle.

He leaned back in his large chair, the screen displaying the words "Challenge Victory." But his face didn't show much joy; instead, it held a thoughtful expression.

His chosen starter Pokémon was Weedle. Many might look down on this common Fighting-type Pokémon, but Giovanni valued its immense potential and formidable offensive capabilities. After a period of training and evolution, Weedle has now successfully evolved into the even more powerful Beedrill!

With its sharp spikes, streamlined body, super speed, and non-functional abilities, Giovanni was very satisfied with Beedrill's performance. In the recent gym battle, he relied on it to completely overwhelm his opponent's Lily, and also reduced Archaeopteryx to more than half its status. Finally, he successfully ended the gym battle with the help of Pidgeotto and Deviljho that he had caught in the forest.

This gym is indeed very difficult. I didn't succeed in my first few attempts and only managed to pass it after many tries.

"Looks like this...it's actually kind of interesting," Sakaki muttered to himself. He reached out and gently stroked the back of the cat lying at his feet. The cat squinted its eyes comfortably and purred softly.

Furthermore, he discovered that the Pokémon ecosystem, type advantages and disadvantages, skill combinations, and even the vague "bond" between trainers and Pokémon in the game "Emerald" all bore a striking resemblance to rules in the real world. This was by no means a simple, purely imaginary entertainment product.

The knowledge system behind it is astonishingly vast, with some details that even he, the tycoon who rules the underworld of the Kanto region, had never heard of.
To be honest, he's thinking about a problem right now.

Should we get the Rockets members involved in this game too?
(End of this chapter)