Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 262 Posted by: Dragon, the strongest!

Ultimately, the decision regarding the distribution of rewards for the hidden story events still needs to be made by Bai Zhou himself.

The event rewards are divided into three tiers, ranked according to the depth and accuracy with which players discover and analyze plot clues. The higher the ranking, the richer the rewards.

The top three are in the first tier, the top one hundred are in the second tier, and those who are on the list (i.e., in the top one thousand) are in the third tier.

The second and third tiers of rewards don't actually require Bai Zhou to put too much effort into deciding.

These fall under the category of regular rewards, such as customized game merchandise, rare in-game item redemption codes, and Pokémon Company-made souvenirs.

The Pokémon Company's operations team is fully capable of handling this on their own.

The only thing The Pokémon Company couldn't manage was the top-tier reward.

In order to generate buzz for the event, Bai Zhou offered a reward that was practically a "nuclear bomb".

A magical item that can directly boost Pokémon experience without any side effects—"Rare Candy"—that doesn't exist in reality.

Currently, only Bai Zhou can exchange this item using precious BP points through "Little A Tongxue".

This is a "black technology" that defies common sense in real life, which is why it requires him, the "source," to personally review it, confirm the winner, and decide on the award.

Although this hidden story exploration event did bring Bai Zhou a considerable amount of BP points due to its high level of discussion and enthusiastic player participation.

But when he actually had to take out real "magic candy" as a reward to give away, he still felt a little bit of pain in his heart.

The reason is simple—it's expensive!

At Xiao A's place, a single "magic candy" costs a whopping 600 BP points!

This price is practically robbery!

Fortunately, Bai Zhou has recently come up with a better alternative.

That was the "absolutely perfect" energy cube that he made himself.

Aside from providing slightly less experience than "Magic Candy," this energy cube has almost the same core effect of boosting strength without side effects and gently stimulating potential.

Even more so because it contains the nourishing power of his super-restraint, the long-term effects may be even better, and—it tastes even better!

More importantly, the "Absolute Perfection | Energy Cube" does not require spending precious BP points to redeem.

All he needs to do is put in a little effort and spend some time and energy making it by hand.

Of course, Bai Zhou is not a pushover.

If the top three posts are of mediocre quality, with superficial analysis or completely wrong direction, he certainly wouldn't casually distribute the precious "absolutely perfect" energy cubes as rewards.

Good stuff should be given to players who truly understand and value it.

Only in this way can we sustainably deplete resources.

Well, this is how we can provide feedback to the players and ultimately create a positive cycle.

With a critical and scrutinizing eye, Bai Zhou clicked on the post that ranked first on the activity leaderboard.

The post's title itself was full of gimmicks.

"Breaking News! About Mewtwo! The beginning of everything, the end of everything! The start of world destruction, a mysterious organization capable of traversing worlds!"

Bai Zhou: "————"

Goodness, this clickbait title almost made him think that the "Rainbow Rocket Team" subplot he had carefully laid out and wrapped up in the game had been completely exposed by the players, leaving him with nothing but his underwear.

He composed himself and began to read carefully.

This is a purely text-based analysis post without any video links, but it includes a large number of carefully selected in-game images as supporting evidence.

Posted by: Dragon, the strongest!

When Bai Zhou saw this ID, the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Hmm, this ID style is very unique.

He was exiled to sit at the same table as the dodo bird.

He continued reading.

The first thing that catches the eye is a high-definition image of a game CG that is extremely visually striking!

The image is predominantly dark in color, with a somber sky as the background.

A lifeless Mewtwo hovers high in the air.

Holding up a dark sphere that seemed to devour all light with one hand, he looked down at the modern city below.

The entire composition is filled with destructive tension and a sense of oppression, as if destruction would strike at any moment.

"Without further ado, let's get straight to the point! Regarding the hidden storyline that Mr. Salty mentioned, which spans the entire Pokémon series, after my tireless exploration and deduction, I've finally made an astonishing discovery!"

"In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, only after completing the main storyline and various rich side quests do players truly gain the right to find and decipher this hidden storyline!"

"Do you all remember that episode where Teacher Xianyu formed a bond with Mewtwo during his livestream? In the story, we found a hastily written notebook in that handsome researcher's room, along with a vial of gene serum inside?"

Following this text, the post included several screenshots of the game.

Close-ups of key pages in the notes, the uniquely shaped tube of gene serum, and screenshots from Bai Zhou's live stream exploring the room.

"I believe this is the key to unlocking all the mysteries! That notebook seems to record, from a first-person perspective, the process of another parallel world's utter destruction!"

"Although the notes are incomplete and the information is vague, we can still deduce the core idea: in that world, some force (or individual) created an extremely terrifying weapon," and then used this weapon to rule and ultimately destroy the entire world!

"Here, the game's storyline explicitly introduces the concept of parallel worlds/multiverses for the first time, opening up an unprecedentedly grand scope for the Pokémon universe!"

"From here, the starting point of the entire hidden plot becomes clearly revealed! Simply put, we need to consider a few core questions."

Who wrote this notebook of despair? Who (or which organization) created that devastating weapon? And further, what is the weapon itself?

"Furthermore, let's consider this from a different perspective: according to the parallel universe theory, it seems that every world has a corresponding counterpart."

"So, do the 'makers,' 'weapons,' and even 'writers' recorded in the notebook have counterparts in the Pokémon world we're currently playing?"

"The rest of the approach is simple and clear! That is to find these counterparts! Then, starting from their experiences and background stories in the game, we can deeply analyze their behavioral logic and potential connections."

"Ultimately, the true cause of the parallel world's destruction will be revealed, and the true nature of the mysterious organization that spans worlds will be exposed!"

Upon seeing this, Bai Zhou couldn't help but gasp, a feeling of genuine admiration rising in his heart.

Who is this?!

Can such a close-up of the truth be deduced from just those fragmented and deliberately obscure clues in the game, like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle?!

This person's logical reasoning ability and sensitivity to detail are simply outrageously strong!

He swallowed silently, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

I never expected that the "Rainbow Rocket Team" subplot that I had painstakingly hidden would be exposed just a few months after the game's major update.

The core clues have already been exposed, even pointing directly to the essence of the multiverse intrusion.

The content of the subsequent posts made him question the meaning of life, wondering if he should have buried those clues in the Earth's core in the first place.

"A new problem arises: there's no specific information about these isotopes, so how do we find them? Haha, everyone should take another look at the title of this post—that's right! The answer is Mewtwo!"

"Actually, combining the information in the notes with the similarities in the game, it's not hard to see that the weapon recorded in the notes that caused the world's destruction" is very likely its counterpart is Mewtwo, whom we are familiar with!"

"But at this point, someone will definitely jump out and refute: the weapon mentioned in the notes is not explicitly a Pokémon!"

A living, sentient being and a cold, inanimate weapon are two completely different concepts!

"I know you're in a hurry! But please don't rush!"

"Remember that vial of gene serum that came with the notebook? Please think carefully again, where did Mr. Salty ultimately use that vial of serum later in the game's story?"

The post included another screenshot.

The animation showcases a moment in the story where Shiro controls Shiro to use the vial of medicine to soothe and strengthen the connection with Mewtwo.

"Mewtwo! This potion, originating from another world and filled with unknown technology, was ultimately used on Mewtwo! It not only miraculously resolved the pain caused by Mewtwo's unstable genetic modification, but also forged an even deeper bond between Mr. Salty and Mewtwo!"

"Doesn't that prove everything? This potion shows a high degree of compatibility and homology with Mewtwo!"

"Therefore, I have ample reason to deduce that Mewtwo, or rather, its prototype or counterpart, was the beginning of that other world's destruction! Based on this, the force that ruled that destroyed world was very likely Team Rocket!"

Combining this with the warning about "impending danger" mentioned at the end of the notes, could we interpret it as: the dark force that has already destroyed its own world is preparing to attack the Pokémon game we are currently playing?

The world is being invaded?!

"Of course, at this point, there will definitely be nitpickers asking: According to the main storyline, wasn't our world's Team Rocket defeated and disbanded by Red? How could they still be capable of invading another world?"

"But—please consider this crucial 'what if': What if the variable 'Crimson' didn't even exist in that destroyed parallel world?"

"What if Giovanni in that world successfully achieved his ambitions without encountering any real opponents?"

The post ends abruptly, leaving readers with endless thoughts and a profound sense of awe.

Although the content is not long, it is almost entirely packed with valuable information, with a clear logical chain and bold yet rigorous speculations.

Bai Zhou finally understood why this post had been able to outshine all others and top the event leaderboard.

If it weren't for a rigorous internal investigation by The Pokémon Company confirming that this was indeed an independent analysis by a player...

He would definitely suspect that this guy was an insider in the company who deliberately pulled this stunt to trick him into giving him a reward!

The reason is simple: the player named "Dragon is the strongest" is almost right in his prediction, if not entirely correct!

At least in terms of the general direction that Team Rainbow Rocket comes from another world, their goal is to invade this world, and Mewtwo plays a key role in it, there is almost no deviation!

This is practically the prophet revealing his identity outright!

Where's the werewolf? Come out and save us! How are we supposed to play like this?!

Bai Zhou sighed and rubbed his temples.

He still greatly underestimated the wisdom and "archaeological" abilities of the vast player base.

If he had known the players were this skilled, he should have hidden these clues even deeper and more obscurely.

It was a mistake to be so "generous" during the live stream by showing the contents of that notebook!

Clearly, Bai Zhou wasn't the only one who thought this post was awesome.

The comment section below the post had gone completely wild, with all sorts of discussions and additions popping up everywhere.

Top comment #1: A passionate old man solving riddles

"The poster is incredibly skilled! This logical chain of reasoning is almost perfectly closed! It matches every clue we can find in the game so far!"

"But upon closer examination, there are still some minor flaws. For example, Mr. Xianyu explicitly stated that this subplot would run through multiple generations of Pokémon."

"If it's just about the Rockets, the storyline doesn't seem big enough, does it? There must be deeper details we haven't discovered yet!"

Top comment #2: Miss Walnut is the best!

"While the analysis seems very insightful at first glance, there's a fatal flaw! I don't deny that Mewtwo is very powerful, but can it really destroy the entire world on its own?"

"Don't forget, other legendary Pokémon exist in our world too! Will they just stand by and watch the world end? Can Mewtwo really take on multiple legendary Pokémon at once and defeat them all?"

[Hot Comment 3: N]

"I think the original poster's speculation is highly plausible! But if we can find out who wrote that notebook, it will probably explain a lot of key information."

"The problem is that there is very little relevant information provided in the game—currently, all we know is that the notes are in the handsome researcher's room, but the researcher himself seems to know nothing about it?"

"Top comment #4: Incubating eggs, please do not disturb!"

"This is completely irrelevant! I don't understand why this post is ranked number one?"

"You yourself said that every world has its counterparts. Since Team Rocket and Mewtwo exist, why shouldn't 'Red Legends, the saviors of our world,' exist in that destroyed world?"

"Your logic is completely inconsistent! The reasons for that world's destruction are likely much more complex!"

Top comment #5: I'm not a bug-catching boy.

"I'm just here for fun, and I'm stating upfront that I won't participate in your serious speculations!"

"I have a wild idea: do you think it's possible that the reason that notebook was in the handsome researcher's room was because he himself wrote it?!"

"He's actually a survivor who escaped from that destroyed parallel world! That's why he doesn't have any Pokémon by his side, but he possesses an absurdly powerful strength that's unlike anything a normal human could have!"

Bai Zhou toured the area.

When he saw the comment from "Leziren", he was clearly stunned for a moment, and then a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

Hey!

This kid isn't stupid!