Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 207 "Teacher Salty Fish, you've done so many bad things! (Slams table)"

"Ahem! Let's go, it's getting late!"

Bai Zhou spoke instantly, using a very deliberate cough and a noticeably faster speaking speed to forcefully interrupt the crucial name that Chi Hong was about to utter.

Then, he controlled Little White, bypassing Little Red who was still standing there in a daze, and left the room of the handsome researcher filled with a mysterious aura.

This blatant act of "cutting off the storyline" directly triggered a wave of dissatisfaction in the live stream chat.

"Wait! We just got to the crucial part!"

"Salted Fish Teacher, you've done so many bad things! (Slams table)"

"Red Boss! Tell me quickly! Who exactly is that researcher who took those notes?!"

"I took my pants off and this is what you show me?!"

"Fragment Dog! Unfollowed! Unfollowed!"

Faced with the collective "condemnation" from the barrage of comments, Bai Zhou was naturally fearless.

He already knew this all along. What was the point of revealing all the answers from the beginning?

This core suspense needs to be created like dangling a carrot, dangling it piece by piece, encouraging players to explore on their own.

Let's discuss and explore.

This is the only way to ensure the game's activity level and the community's vitality to the greatest extent.

Moreover, information that players discover through their own hard work is far more memorable and resonates more with people than settings that are directly announced by the official team.

It is also more easily accepted and cherished by the player community.

"Please calm down."

Bai Zhou first calmed the emotions of the viewers in the live chat, explaining in a calm tone:

"As a beta tester of our game, Crimson did have prior knowledge of some unreleased plot points and settings. These were subject to strict confidentiality agreements and cannot be disclosed to the public. We hope everyone understands."

He paused deliberately, giving the audience time to process this "reasonable" explanation, and then abruptly switched to a different tone of voice.

It was a tone full of boldness and allure, loudly proclaiming into the microphone.

"Want to know the outcome? You can have it all! Go find it! I've put everything into Pokémon!"

This sudden and highly inflammatory declaration instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the live chat.

The previous dissatisfaction was immediately forgotten, and everyone began to "get upset".

"Oh my god, I don't know what's burning! But it's totally on fire!!!"

"I get it! The large-scale storyline exploration event that went live with this major update was all for this hidden storyline, right?!"

"This feels like finding a treasure! And it really does! Finding hidden story clues and submitting them in the event will earn you points and a ranking, then you can claim rare rewards! Wow! This is a real treasure trove!"

"Let's go! Let's mine all night! Oh no, I mean, let's mine the storyline!"

"Teacher Salty Fish knows how to motivate players! (laughing and crying)"

Bai Zhou glanced at the barrage of comments that had instantly become a chaotic and enthusiastic frenzy, and a knowing smile crept onto his lips.

He called out to Crimson, and the two of them, controlling their characters, walked out of the back door of Professor Oak's lab and stepped into a spacious and vibrant backyard.

"I'm sure all of you players who enjoy exploring are already quite familiar with this place."

As Bai Zhou skillfully maneuvered Little White to avoid several hopping walking grasses, he explained:

"After all, there are many hidden starter Pokémon that can be bonded with. Not to mention the starter Pokémon Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, some other Pokémon may be hidden somewhere in this area, waiting for a destined trainer to discover them."

Little White did not linger in its usual habitats, but continued towards the depths of the backyard, into a denser, more pristine forest.

"However, I'm not here for them this time; I'm here to visit another friend."

Bai Zhou's voice carried a hint of mystery.

"Everyone in the live stream, why don't you try to guess who this old friend is? The first lucky viewer to guess correctly will receive a brand new Pokédex."

A generous reward will surely attract brave men!

As soon as these words were spoken, the live chat was instantly flooded with the names of various Pokémon, and the reaction was extremely enthusiastic.

People were guessing all sorts of things, from the starter Pokémon of Kanto to various rare Pokémon, and some even started mentioning the names of Pokémon from other regions.

Things like "Snivy" and "Fire Fox" have emerged, all aiming to cast a wide net and lower the odds of winning.

Of course, there were also many insightful comments that focused on legendary Pokémon.

"Flamingo?" "Articuno?" "Zetzart?" There were quite a few nominations for the three legendary birds.

"Mewtwo?" Some people also mentioned this powerful artificial Pokémon.

But the word mentioned most often is undoubtedly "dreamlike"!

After all, screenshots and videos of players capturing fleeting glimpses of dreamlike, blurry figures across various locations on the map have already circulated online.

This basically confirms the rumor that "the game will randomly spawn across the entire map with a very low probability".

It appears in Professor Oak's backyard, which has an excellent ecosystem. The probability is low, but it is not impossible.

Most players are skeptical about "Mewtwo".

They felt that Mewtwo's power was practically a bug, and its background was tragic.

Appearing in Professor Oak's backyard, a peaceful and tranquil place that seems like a paradise, is really a bit out of place with its high-class image and art style.

The Pokémon here, even their final evolutions, all have a carefree and unassuming demeanor.

Bai Zhou smiled knowingly as he watched the chaotic and wildly imaginative speculations in the live chat, but did not immediately reveal the answer.

Instead, it kept the little white dog in suspense, continuing to let it venture deeper into the forest.

As they ventured deeper, their surroundings began to change.

The carefree, early-stage Pokémon that were once ubiquitous are gradually becoming rarer.

Instead, there are fully evolved Pokémon with a calm demeanor and robust physique, such as Machamp, Arcanine, and Alakazam.

Unlike the Pokémon on the outer ring who frolic freely, they appear more organized, patrolling and guarding specific routes deep within the forest.

Their eyes were sharp, as if they were jointly protecting something important in the center of this area.

However, these powerful Pokémon did not show hostility or try to drive away White and Red upon their arrival.

They would only cast a scrutinizing glance from afar, and once they confirmed there was no threat, they would continue their silent patrols.

"It's probably around this area."

Bai Zhou controlled Xiao Bai to stop, carefully observed the patrolling Pokémon that were faintly visible around them, and after confirming that the environment matched the coordinates in his memory, he said:

"If we just AFK near these coordinates and are lucky enough, there's a very small chance we'll run into our old friend, but—"

He abruptly changed the subject, looking at the crimson game character, Little Red, with a smug tone that suggested he possessed a secret technique.

"If we obtain that special item, we'll be able to see it with 100% certainty! Crimson, you can take out that special item now."

"Special item? What special item?"

Crimson paused for a moment upon hearing this, her finger hovering over the interface.

He quickly ran through his backpack in his mind, but couldn't recall anything he had that could be used in the current situation, anything that could be called a "special item".

Not only him, but the barrage of comments was instantly flooded with question marks, with everyone looking completely bewildered.

"Special items? What good stuff is Crimson Legend secretly hiding from everyone? Surely not! A legendary player like him is actually keeping secrets?!"

"Could it be the stone that Crimson Legend just swiped from the handsome researcher's room? But wait! If it were that, Professor Salty wouldn't have needed to avoid asking about stones earlier, would he?"

"No, no, no! Have you all forgotten those strange items that Red and Ash found in all sorts of odd corners during their stream? This must be one of those items they acquired before but never got to use!"

"I remember! There really was one, something like—'Cellular Gene'? The description was weird."

"Could it be feathers from the three legendary birds? Can you summon a specific legendary bird using a particular feather? But that doesn't make sense; aren't the three legendary birds all bound to the main characters?"

Although Crimson was full of doubts and didn't know which prop Bai Zhou was referring to, his efficiency was top-notch.

He immediately obediently opened the in-game inventory interface and began searching carefully.

His gaze swept quickly over the various evolution stones, TMs, and berries.

Finally, the icon stopped at an item whose appearance was somewhat strange and out of place with the other props.

"Gene destruction"

"A product of an accidental failure in one of Team Rocket's secret research experiments, it seems to retain a strange activity; when held in the hand, one can vaguely sense a strange resonance from afar—|

"Extremely dangerous attached cell! When a Pokémon carries this cell, it will immediately and permanently attach itself, plunging the Pokémon into a permanent state of confusion, but at the same time, its physical attack power will be greatly increased!"

"Destroy genes? Is this it, Mr. Saltyfish?"

Crimson asked somewhat uncertainly.

The description of this item is really strange, and the effects seem to have serious side effects.

He had tried to research it privately, but the results all showed that it was "temporarily unusable" or had no obvious effect.

"That's right, it's this prop!"

Bai Zhou confirmed, his tone then becoming a mix of speechlessness and curiosity.

"—Speaking of which, you don't even know its specific function. How did you and Zhi manage to get this item in the first place?"

He was genuinely a little surprised.

"Destroy Gene | Item, a key item that is deeply bound to Mewtwo!"

It is the most important and core part of starting the questline to form a bond with Mewtwo!

It's fair to say that without this item, players would have an extremely difficult time establishing a connection with Mewtwo, if not impossible.

According to the normal process designed by Bai Zhou, players need to first follow certain clues.

For example, by learning about the connection between Mewtwo and Team Rocket's genetic experiments from Blaine, the Gym Leader of Crimson City who knows the inside story, one can obtain a clue about the whereabouts of this item.

Only then can we effectively search for "destructive genes".

If players haven't triggered this prerequisite storyline, they won't know about the existence and importance of the "Destruction Gene".

To find this item, which randomly spawns in a few secret locations, purely by luck in the vast game world—

The probability is ridiculously low!

Moreover, even if you were lucky enough to find it, you wouldn't know how to use it if you didn't know the correct way to use it.

Bai Zhou had seen that Ash had this item in his game save file, and thought that Ash and Red had basically completed the prequel to Mewtwo's storyline.

Only one final step remains before facing Mewtwo's true form.

But now it seems—that's not the case at all!

"Uh—this."

After a brief moment of recollection, Crimson explained in a simple and direct style:

"It's an item we found when we took Articuno to take down Team Rocket's secret base near Cinnabar Island. It looked pretty special, so we picked it up."

He seemed to remember something and added:

"Oh, by the way, when we infiltrated that base, we unexpectedly discovered Gym Leader Blaine, who had been kidnapped and imprisoned by Team Rocket, so we rescued him as well."

Bai Zhou: "——"

He's a real jerk!

What is this? The whole process is wrong, but the result is all right?!

According to his original design.

To form a bond with Articuno, the normal procedure is to take it directly to destroy Team Rocket's ground base on Cinnabar Island and demonstrate strength in battle that it will acknowledge.

The series of events involving infiltrating the underground base, rescuing Blaine, and discovering the "destructive gene" belong to a completely separate hidden storyline!

It's specially made for Mewtwo!

These two storylines have almost nothing in common except for the final destination. They are completely unrelated in terms of plot triggering conditions, NPC dialogues, and mission objectives!

That Crimson guy is something else!

It's simply destiny!

Whether it was incredible luck or something else, he somehow managed to twist two storylines that should have been parallel into one, allowing him to experience them all at once!

No wonder he was able to obtain the key item "Gene Destroyer" but knew nothing about its use. It's because he didn't follow the normal Mewtwo prequel storyline at all; he just "killed two birds with one stone"—picked it up by chance!

"Haki Red, you bastard—"

Bai Zhou sighed, his tone filled with a helpless mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Seriously—I don't know what to say about you."

He could almost foresee the kind of "pain" that players who treated Red Live as the ultimate strategy guide would face in the future.

If they strictly follow Crimson's "strategy", they will soon find in despair that what Crimson can do, they simply cannot do!

Or rather, even if one can imitate a similar form, the result will most likely be vastly different.

This is not just a difference in strength and luck, but more importantly, the unrepeatable "unexpectedness" and "plot triggering method".

In the process of resolving the Articuno incident, Crimson accidentally triggered a crucial moment to save Blaine, while simultaneously fulfilling the prerequisite of "destroying genes".

This chain reaction, much like the butterfly effect, is so complex that for an ordinary player to accurately replicate it is as difficult as winning the lottery.

"Forget it, since we've already come this far, there's no point in dwelling on the process."

Bai Zhou shook his head, no longer dwelling on this "beautiful accident".

"Just use this 'Gene Destroyer' item."

His original plan was to demonstrate relatively clearly how to form a bond with Mewtwo during the live stream.

This can be considered a disguised "unbanning" of Mewtwo, a Mega Pokémon.

But now it seems that these complicated and unpredictable prerequisites alone are enough to deter 99% of players.

However, from another perspective, this might not be a bad thing.

Maintaining the mystique and high acquisition threshold of legendary Pokémon actually stimulates the challenge and sense of accomplishment of top-tier players.