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

Chapter 197 A heated debate, a game out of control!
Just then, the curtain of the ambulance station was lifted.

Miss Joey, dressed in a nurse's uniform, came out with her Lucky Egg and a smile on her face.

She looked at Ah Xiang sitting on the steps and said softly, "Your Charizard is really tough. The external injuries and poison have been treated, but it's mainly exhausted and needs to rest for a while. It's asleep now."

Ah Xiang quickly stood up, a huge weight lifted from his heart: "Thank you, Miss Joey."

“You’re welcome, it’s our job.” Miss Joy shook her head, her gaze falling gently on A-Xiang. “But you, young man. I heard that you and your Charizard protected many people in the chaos just now, that’s truly remarkable.”

Ah Xiang lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly, staring at his hands, which still seemed to retain the feel of the Poké Ball and the two stones. "I... I just did what I was supposed to do."

“Often, the things we should do are the hardest things to do,” Miss Joy said meaningfully, then pointed inside. “Go in and take a look at it, just keep your voice down. Lucky Egg will stay here and observe him, so don’t worry.”

Ah Xiang nodded, took a deep breath, and quietly walked into the temporary first aid station.

The first aid station was small and filled with the smell of disinfectant and wound medicine.

The fire-breathing dragon was fast asleep, lying on a specially made large mat, its chest rising and falling steadily with its breathing.

Its wounds had been carefully bandaged. Although it looked a bit disheveled, the intense weakness had disappeared, and the flames on the tip of its tail were burning steadily, indicating that it was in good condition.

Ah Xiang crouched down next to the Charizard, remaining silent and simply watching it.

The feeling of that strange spiritual connection resurfaced in his mind.

He could clearly recall the unwavering determination to protect Charizard when it stood in front of him; it wasn't out of command, but stemmed from the purest bond.
"..."

Ah Xiang reached out and touched the base of Charizard's bandaged wing, his voice low, "I'm sorry for making you worry... and thank you for not giving up on me."

The Charizard seemed to sense something in its sleep, letting out a soft, contented hum from its nostrils.

At this moment, Ah Xiang finally made up his mind.

He touched the two stones in his pocket again, this time with a firm confirmation, not hesitation or struggle.

He stood up, took one last look at the Charizard, and then turned and walked out of the aid station.

The sunlight outside was just right, shining on the city that had just experienced trauma.

In the distance, the alliance's staff and volunteers were still busy, but order had been largely restored, and people's faces no longer showed panic, but rather the relief of surviving a disaster.

Instead of heading home, Ah Xiang turned in another direction—to the community center.

His steps were no longer as heavy and slow as when he went upstairs in the afternoon, but became firm and powerful.

He still goes to the Trainer Center, but not to cancel the Trainer Certificate that once held his dreams.

Instead, he should ask if the qualification certificate he almost gave up could be reactivated.

His journey as a trainer may have to continue.

Of course, maybe we'll start with which game?
That night, in the Sinnoh region, at the League headquarters.

In the same top-level conference room, the atmosphere was even more somber than last time.

The huge circular table was filled with people, mostly high-ranking council members of the league, key regional leaders, and champion representatives like Cynthia and Lancelot.

A large number of senior researchers, including PhDs, were also among them, with more participants than the last time.

The meeting was chaired by the same white-haired, serious-faced Alliance General Manager. He tapped the table and began in a low voice, "Gentlemen, you are all aware of the situation. It hasn't been long since the 'game rewards becoming real' incident, and we have to hold another emergency meeting. This time, the incident is even more serious."

On the large screen behind him, footage of the chaos in the nameless city streets that afternoon, along with blurry images of the black fire-breathing dragon in battle, was playing. The video appeared to have been filmed by a survivor's phone; the footage was shaky and unclear, but the powerful aura was still palpable even through the screen.

"First, regarding this void that suddenly appeared and disappeared..." The general manager switched the screen, displaying a high-resolution magnified image of the distorted purple vortex. "We had already discovered its existence before, and temporarily named it a 'black hole.' Based on the analysis of residual energy at the scene, it differs from any known method of opening a secret realm, and is fraught with instability and danger."

"What some of you may not know is that this hole has not only been discovered before, but there have also been similar attacks before. However, they were all small-scale and located in remote areas, and were easily dealt with. We were able to barely suppress the news of those incidents that occurred in the suburbs, but this time it appeared directly in the densely populated city center, and on a large scale, causing a lot of casualties and damage. This time, the news can no longer be kept secret."

A low murmur of discussion filled the conference room.

The conservative representative—a middle-aged board member with a stern face—spoke first, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction: "I believe the most urgent task is to stabilize public sentiment and strengthen control over public opinion! We must emphasize that the alliance is capable of handling this kind of crisis! We cannot allow panic to continue to fester!"

"Control? How do you control it?" Another young council member, who belonged to the radical faction, immediately retorted, pointing at the black fire-breathing dragon on the screen, looking very agitated.

"Director, look at this! Those invading, bizarre Pokémon generally have individual energy levels at the Gym Leader level! Our city's regular security forces, including the elite Pokémon in the vicinity at the time, were completely helpless against them! If it weren't for this... this Charizard that underwent an unknown transformation and fought desperately to buy time, the casualties would have been many times greater!"

His gaze swept across the entire room, and his tone rose: "What does this show? It shows how vulnerable our existing defense system is in the face of such an unknown threat! And the key to turning the tide comes from the rewards given out by that game!"

"We've investigated the situation of that trainer named A Xiang. His Charizard was originally only a Gym Leader level, but with those two stones, it unleashed such terrifying power! Doesn't that prove the importance of this game?"

"Absurd!" The conservative council member slammed his fist on the table. "Placing our hopes on a game of dubious origin? That's the biggest destabilizing factor! The widespread appearance of items that can directly boost Pokémon's strength will completely disrupt the balance between trainers and even shake the foundations of the League! What we should be doing is strictly controlling this power and investigating the manipulators behind the game, not blindly promoting it!"

"Balance? Foundation? This black hole has smashed into our faces! The residents outside are facing mortal danger, and you're still thinking about maintaining this so-called balance?" The radical councilor's face flushed with anger. "The most important thing now is to improve overall strength and deal with the crisis! I think we should encourage, or even organize, trainers to participate in the game to acquire resources!" "You're drinking poison to quench your thirst!"

"You're just stuck in your ways!"

The two sides were deadlocked, and the atmosphere in the meeting room was tense.

Sitting to the side, Cynthia, dressed in a sharp black trench coat, listened quietly to the argument, her fingers unconsciously twirling a pen in front of her.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, and a hint of weariness and...coldness flashed in her eyes.

The last meeting was one thing, but now, with the disaster brought by the Ultra Hole imminent, countless people displaced and Pokémon suffering heavy casualties, these high-ranking council members are still prioritizing the League's authority, the balance of power, and internal interests.

This is really
Sitting diagonally opposite her, Wataru noticed Cynthia's expression. He was also clearly quite displeased with the bickering in front of him, his brows furrowed.

As the argument between the two escalated, he suddenly stood up, his deep voice instantly drowning out all other sounds:

"enough!"

The meeting room fell silent, and everyone looked at him.

Wataru's sharp gaze swept over the arguing parties: "Tracing the source of the black hole, assessing its threat level, and developing contingency plans—that's our primary task sitting here! As for that game..." He paused, his voice softening, "it has shown the potential to enhance our crisis response capabilities. Whether it's good or bad, the Alliance needs to conduct a more careful investigation and provide guidance, rather than engaging in pointless arguments here. The most urgent task is to deal with the immediate disaster!"

“I agree with Du’s view.” A doctor adjusted his glasses, his voice gentle. “A new threat has emerged, and we need to unite all forces that can be united. Regarding the game you mentioned, we should establish a dedicated research group and strengthen the monitoring and research of black holes.”

The Alliance's general secretary looked at the scene before him, took a deep breath, and his face was full of exhaustion.

He raised his hand to stop the conservative council members who wanted to speak further, and said in a deep voice, "Du Guanjun and Dr. Koun are right. Arguing won't solve anything. This meeting is adjourned for now."

He made a decision: "The priority now is to allocate manpower to handle post-disaster reconstruction and the comforting of the injured. At the same time, all cities are ordered to strengthen their alert levels, especially the monitoring of spatial fluctuations, to prevent the recurrence of the black hole."

Finally, he looked at everyone, his tone tinged with helplessness: "As for that game called Emerald... whatever we want to do with it, whether we agree or disagree, one thing is clear—its 'abilities' far exceed our understanding and control. It's no longer something we can unilaterally decide how to deal with."

"The meeting is dismissed!"

As he announced this, everyone rose and left with varying expressions. Cynthia and Watari both walked at the very back.

Stepping out of the conference room and onto the terrace at the end of the corridor, the night breeze dispelled the stuffy air in the conference room.

The city lights in the distance shone brightly and were quite visible against the night sky.

"What do you think?" Du leaned against the railing, gazing into the distance, and spoke first.

Cynthia sighed softly, the evening breeze ruffling her long hair: "To be honest, I have a bad feeling. These strange Pokémon this time, their individual strength was probably only at the Gym Leader level, yet they were already overwhelming the regular city defenses. What if... what if the next ones are Elite Four level, or even Champion level? Or what if there are several times more of them?"

"After all, you know that the guys who have appeared in the Ultra Hole in the game are not just Gym Leader level."

Her voice was soft, yet it struck Du's heart like a heavy hammer.

Lance paused for a moment, then nodded, his expression grave. "Yes, this is just the beginning. We must improve our strength as quickly as possible, not only ourselves, but also the entire alliance's ability to respond." He turned to Cynthia. "So, in Emerald, have you made any new discoveries lately? Especially regarding clues about the Ultra Void. I can only ask you, since only you are progressing much faster than me in the main story."

Cynthia shook her head: "The game's main story doesn't mention Ultra Deeps anymore. My current storyline is stuck at the point where a giant Ultra Deep appears. That part is quite interesting, but unfortunately, it's not very engaging. However..." She paused, "This game has such a vast world, involving many unknown areas and legends, there will definitely be new storylines about Ultra Deeps later on."

Wataru nodded: "This game is really amazing. Now it's not just a tool to provide us with power, but also an intelligence station... It's hard to imagine that a game can do this. It's incredible."

“Indeed,” Cynthia agreed. A brief silence fell between them as they each pondered.

After a while, Du seemed to remember something, and his tone became slightly more relaxed. With a hint of curiosity, he asked, "By the way, what did you think of the latest part of the plot? Can you give me a spoiler about what happens next?"

He knew that for Cynthia to talk about an interesting plot, it must be something extraordinary.

When the game's storyline was mentioned, a faint smile finally appeared on Cynthia's face.

She recalled controlling her game character, witnessing firsthand the earth-shattering battle between Groudon and Kyogre in dire straits, and then the awe-inspiring scene of Rayquaza's arrival to quell the chaos.
Even now, thinking of those scenes, she feels her heart surging with emotion.

Cynthia turned to Wataru and actually smiled: "It's a secret. But I can promise."

"The storyline you're about to experience... shouldn't disappoint you."

Du was taken aback at first when he saw the rare expression on her face, but then he smiled, his tone full of anticipation:

"There's something you're unwilling to say directly? I guess you want to surprise me, right? Okay, if that's the case, then I'd better hurry up and go see for myself what's going on."

"See you later, I hope...we can have more time."

"See you later."

(End of this chapter)