Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 397 "The background music starts, and Crimson makes its appearance! The oppressive feeling is incredible!"

The moment Ah Xiang stepped into the Silver Mountain area, the game's background music suddenly changed!

The originally leisurely and cheerful melody disappeared, replaced by a low, heavy, and solemn background music.

It seemed to be setting the stage for a solemn and dignified atmosphere for the journey ahead.

Cibana was taken aback.

"This background music is pretty good."

The roads in Baiyin Mountain are intricate and complex, with caves nested within caves and numerous forks in the road; one can easily go astray if one is not careful.

He took the wrong turn several times and went around in circles before finally stumbling and falling as he climbed from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside.

But what really made him start to care was the wild Pokémon he encountered.

Just as the comments said—it's incredibly powerful!

In their first encounter, Ah Xiang met a Nidoking that darted out of the forest.

It is exceptionally large, nearly twice the size of Nido Kings in other habitats.

"Nidoking Lv.58"

"How many!?"

Cibana's eyes widened.

"What level is this Nidoki?!"

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Level 58?! Level 58 at the foot of the mountain?! Cough cough—it's nothing, level 58 is nothing to me."

At first, Cibana didn't take it seriously.

After all, his team averaged level 75, giving them a level advantage, making every match a crushing defeat.

But the higher you go, the more something seems wrong.

Wild Pokémon are getting higher and higher levels: level 60, level 62, level 65 —

Even more outrageous is that these wild creatures have an unusually rich combat experience.

Its attack timing is perfect, and its skill combinations are very reasonable, making it several times more difficult to fight than many Pokémon that have trainers directing them.

"This...this isn't right, is it?"

Cibana's brow furrowed, and the ease in his tone gradually disappeared.

"How come these Pokémon have more battle experience than those specially trained Pokémon?"

"I've noticed that too! All the Pokémon here are seasoned veterans!"

"I suspect these Pokémon are training by fighting each other every day on the mountaintop—"

"This place is so eerie, I can't even get to the middle of the mountain —"

"What do the Pokémon here eat to grow up?! Why are the Pokémon here so high level? Is there any explanation for it?"

"What's on top of this mountain? I'm getting more and more curious."

Only then did Cibana abandon his nonchalant attitude, sit up straight, and begin to take it seriously.

He began to take every battle seriously, rationally allocate his Pokémon's stamina, and even choose to take detours to avoid unnecessary attrition battles when necessary.

After passing through the dark and deep Silver Cave, he finally arrived at the upper level of Silver Mountain.

The wild Pokémon here are even more terrifying!

Superhuman strength at level 68.

A level 70 Onix.

There's even a level 72 Dragonite!

As the enormous orange-yellow figure swept across the top of the screen, Cibana's pupils contracted sharply.

"Level 72?! A wild Dragonite at level 72?! Is that even possible?!"

"A level 72 wild Dragonite?! I'm totally blown away!"

"If I manage to bring back a Pokémon from here, wouldn't that mean I could directly challenge the Champion League?!"

"No wonder no one can get up here—who can hold them off?!"

"Go, Chibana! You're almost at the top! I'm already looking forward to what's at the summit!"

"It must be a legendary Pokémon! Absolutely! Otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of this difficulty!"

After being attacked by several waves of powerful wild Pokémon, Raihana finally couldn't hold on any longer.

"No, no, the team's form is off."

He wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.

"I need to rest for a bit. This place is too outrageous. I never thought wild Pokémon could be this powerful."

While treating the Pokémon, he developed a strong curiosity about the mountaintop.

"If the upper levels are like this—what exactly is at the top of the mountain?"

He looked at the road leading to the mountaintop on the screen.

"What could be hidden in a place protected by so many powerful Pokémon?"

With this curiosity and a hint of anticipation, after restoring all the Pokémon to their best condition, he controlled Hibiki to embark on the journey up the mountain again.

Pass through the last silver cave that connects to the top of the mountain.

The moment he stepped out of the cave, the game's background music abruptly stopped!

Instead, there was the sound of howling and fierce wind and snow!

The game perspective of Qibana abruptly switched from "third person" to "first person" without any warning!

On the screen, there was only a sky full of snow and a blurry foreground.

The comments section was filled with question marks.

"??? What's going on? Why did the perspective change?"

"A bug? I've never seen anything like this before!"

"Is the game malfunctioning? No, look, it's still working!"

Cibana was also taken aback.

"What's going on? Why is it in first person? Is it a bug?"

But he soon discovered that he could still control Ah Xiang's movements.

The character is indeed walking forward, and there are footprints in the snow, but the perspective is fixed in the first person.

He steered Ah Xiang around, and there was no other way around but a narrow path that stretched straight up.

At the end of that snowstorm, something seemed to be waiting for him.

The atmosphere in the live chat also began to become tense.

"What...what are you trying to do?"

"Wow, this atmosphere is amazing!"

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Something's not right!"

"There's definitely something on the mountaintop! It's absolutely a legendary Pokémon!"

"Charge! Let's rush up and see what it is!"

"The background music stopped so eerily; the sound of the wind alone is even scarier—"

Cibana took a deep breath.

"Okay, then let's go up and take a look."

He controlled Ah Xiang and set off onto that path.

The wind and snow were howling, and visibility was poor.

But with each step upwards, the view ahead becomes clearer.

Until he came to a long flight of stairs.

At the end of the stairs, there seemed to be a figure standing there quietly.

With her back to him, her figure appeared blurry and lonely in the wind and snow.

The pupil of the cibana tube is tremor-like.

"No! How can there be someone here?!"

He had expected to find a legendary Pokémon or some kind of relic on the mountaintop—but it turned out to be just a person?!

"Holy crap! A human?!"

"Besides players, who else can get up here?!"

"Holy crap! What kind of monster would be able to traverse this hellish map and stand atop the mountain?!"

Cibana also got nervous.

He held his breath, controlled Ah Xiang, and stepped onto the first step.

Boom!

The heavy drumbeats suddenly rang out!

The extremely oppressive background music suddenly roared in, instantly igniting everyone's adrenaline!

Every note struck my heart hard!

The viewers in the live chat were collectively speechless, and even Qibana felt his heart racing.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! This background music!"

"I'm getting goosebumps!"

"Here it comes! The final boss is about to appear!"

"This background music is so hype! It gave me goosebumps!"

"Good heavens, I'm totally speechless!"

Accompanied by an exciting background music, Ah Xiang climbed the stairs step by step.

On the mountaintop, the figure with its back turned became increasingly clear.

Baseball cap.

Yellow trainer backpack.

A plain red vest.

Blue trousers.

as well as-

A pair of running shoes that looked incredibly familiar.

He stood there quietly, surrounded by wind and snow.

When the distance between the two sides is reduced to less than ten meters.

A dialog box suddenly popped up!

—!

At this moment, the background music reached its most exciting and climax!

The person on the mountaintop slowly turned around, pressing down the bright red baseball cap on his head with one hand.

Beneath the brim of his hat was a cold and resolute face.

Cibana and all the spectators finally got a clear look at the figure.

crimson!

The entire live stream room was instantly flooded with a barrage of comments!

"Crimson red!!! It's crimson red!!!"

"The ultimate hidden boss is the legendary Crimson?! Aaaaaaaah, I'm dead!!!"

"Teacher Salty Fish, you're really daring!!! Making players challenge Crimson Legend?!"

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! The final boss was him!!!"

"This background music! This oppressive atmosphere! I'm suffocating!"

"The inaugural champion versus the new champion! This is a battle of legacy!!!"

"The fighters have arrived!!!"

Cibana's mind went blank, and he blurted out.

"Crimson?! So the hidden boss of Mt. Silver is—the first champion, Crimson?!?"

next moment.

Six beams of light flashed around Crimson!

"Pikachu Lv.88"

"Dragon Rider Lv.80"

"Snorlax Lv.82"

Venusaur Lv.84

Charizard Lv.84

Blastoise Lv.84

Six Pokémon surround Crimson.

A powerful aura emanated from the mountain, as if it were a tangible force, and an invisible sense of oppression enveloped the entire summit of Silver Mountain!

The game interface instantly switched to a familiar battle state!

As he looked at the figure on the screen with the brim of his hat pulled down, Cibana swallowed hard.

The average team level of 84 weighed heavily on his mind!

The boasts he had just made now seemed so pale and laughable in the face of the crimson-clad ranks.

Not a single Pokémon is below level 80!

The highest level, level 88 Pikachu!

This goes beyond being described as simply "powerful".

This is crushing.

Everyone clearly felt it.

The taciturn man before me represents the strongest combat power that this game can currently reach!

"WDNMD! What did I just see?! A level 88 Pikachu?! Not a single Pokémon is below level 80?! This poet!!!"

"Serves you right for showing off! Serves you right for bragging!"

"Didn't Ciban just say he was invincible? Now he's in deep trouble, isn't he?"

"I've been waiting for this whole episode, and it turns out to be the original champion—this game is amazing!"

"The background music starts, and crimson figures appear! The oppressive aura is incredible!"

"Wait, didn't you guys notice? This Crimson is exactly the same player Crimson from FireRed/LeafGreen! It's practically identical!!!"

"Holy crap, now you say that, it's true! Those running shoes! I have no doubt about it! They're the same ones from our game!"

"Two generations of games are linked together!? Then isn't this Crimson Crimson just like us in the past? Are we now going to challenge our past selves!?"

"Help! I'm so scared I'm crying!"

"legend?"

Cibanar rubbed his nose hard, revealing a smug smile.

"This grandpa is all about playing Legendary games!"

Six beams of light flashed in succession!

All six of his main Pokémon also made an appearance, ready for battle!

Just as the two sides were about to make contact.

The screen suddenly went black.

The video ends.

"He actually found it!"

Bai Zhou exited the video and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The crimson at the top of Silver Mountain was a hidden Easter egg he had deliberately planted to help players clear the game.

You need to clear the Johto Alliance first, then the Kanto Alliance, and collect all 16 badges.

Then, they had to fight their way through the monstrous wild Pokémon population of Mt. Silver.

Only then can I see him.

No wonder this video topped the charts.

The challenge of Crimson—this gimmick alone is enough to ignite the passion of all players.

He scrolled to the comments section, and sure enough, it was a mix of amusement and shock.

"I bet you're all wondering why there wasn't any combat footage, right? I watched the live stream, and I'll let you in on a little secret: Qibana was completely crushed!"

"Hahaha! I was there too! Red's Pikachu used Thunderbolt, and Raihan's Dragonite immediately started smoking and plummeted from the sky, bouncing twice after hitting the ground!"

"The level advantage is terrifying—a team with an average level of 84! What does that mean? They're way above the champions! They're simply inhuman!"

"In the end, all six of the Qibana were wiped out, while only one Lapras fell on the Crimson side—it was tragic, utterly tragic."

"I would call it 'Chibana's Good Friday'! The most cheerful and optimistic boy in the Galar region experienced the cruelty of society atop the Silver Mountain."

"No, even though Cibana lost, he was the first person to reach the summit and see Crimson! Do you understand how significant that is?"

"I strongly request that the difficulty of Silver Mountain be reduced! I also want to see the Legend! I want to take a picture with Crimson!"

"Wake up, you up there. With your skills, a level 72 Dragonite on the mountainside could teach you a lesson. You should think about how to avoid getting stuck at the gym in your second playthrough."

Lower the difficulty?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

A legend should have the face of a legend.

If everyone could easily see the crimson color, what would be the point of calling it a legend?

Bai Zhou's smile deepened as he read the comments.

He exited the video interface and replied to Olive's email.

Once the list is confirmed, the rest of the work is simple.

All he needs to do is prepare the "Absolutely Perfect" Energy Cube as the prize, and Olive will handle everything else.

But there's no rush.

He's leaving for Hoenn in a few days, so he needs to pack his bags now.

Bai Zhou stretched and stood up, shouting towards the outside of the room.

"Stop playing! Hurry up and pack your things, or we'll be late!"

A rustling sound came from the living room.

Bai Zhou's expression changed as soon as he reached the door.

"Wait—Gengar, stop! We can deal with Feebas's tank when we leave! Don't put it in the shadows yet!"

Gengar was seen hugging a huge fish tank, its mouth agape, trying to stuff the entire tank into its shadow space.

Water had spilled all over the ground, and the ugly fish was happily spinning around in it, completely unaware that it had almost experienced a "transdimensional" journey.

"Genga!?"

Gengar turned its head back with an innocent look on its face, its mouth still open, the fish tank stuck in mid-air, unable to move forward or backward.

Bai Zhou sighed and turned to Gardevoir, who was covering her mouth and chuckling, for help.

"Please, Gardevoir, use your psychic powers to get Gengar out of the fish tank—"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw something out of the corner of his eye and immediately changed his words loudly.

"Growlithe! Shut up! Don't bite the sofa! We're not taking the sofa with us!"

Beside the sofa, Growlithe was frantically pulling on one of its corners, with a proud expression that said, "I'm helping to move things."

(*—△—)

"And you, Youngkiras! Don't think I didn't mention you! Shovel the sand back into the yard!"

In the yard, young Kiras was holding a small shovel and carefully stuffing a pile of sand into his little backpack.

Upon hearing Bai Zhou's voice, it slowly raised its head and blinked innocently.

(·one·)

Sand—can't we take it with us?