Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 402 "Mother"

"Time stopped?"

Daigo stood there, still somewhat bewildered.

"For ease of operation, since in real combat or exploration, there's no time for you to slowly rummage through your backpack."

Bai Zhou explained, his tone carrying a sense of pride that "this is a thoughtful design."

"There are many similar simplifications, such as item pickup, backpack organization, and equipment switching—all of which have been made as convenient as possible."

"After all, this is a game; too much complexity would negatively impact the experience."

"That's about it, that covers the basics."

"The deeper content, such as Pokémon battles, gym challenges, and story exploration, is left for you to experience for yourself in the game."

"The guidance mission has ended."

The words fell.

Daigo felt that everything around him had returned to its normal flow rate.

The wind picked up again, the grass in the distance began to sway, and the whole world awoke from its "pause," full of life once more.

Daigo stood there, still somewhat bewildered.

The feeling of having control over time was so wonderful that he needed some time to process it.

Over the next few minutes, he tried a few more basic movements.

Open the map, check the time, bring up the menu, and have a simple eye contact with a snake-striped bear that's swaying by on the roadside.

Every attempt was smooth and enjoyable, with the system responding so quickly that the delay was almost imperceptible.

Just as he was about to ask about the next steps, the door to the exquisite duplex in front of him creaked open.

A woman dressed in casual home clothes, with a gentle and beautiful smile, walked out of the door.

Her hair was styled in an elegant updo, and she had faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. Her smile was incredibly warm and approachable.

Upon seeing Daigo standing in the yard, a loving smile immediately appeared on her face, and she waved to him.

At the same time, a line of semi-transparent text appeared at the edge of his field of vision.

"Mother"

This NPC is Mom.

Daigo opened his mouth, his throat feeling dry.

"Mom—Mom?"

"What's wrong, Xiaoyou? Did you have a long and tiring journey?"

The woman walked over with a smile, reached out and patted the dust off his clothes, her voice full of concern.

"That's true. Being bounced around in the back of a truck for so long is really uncomfortable. You should rest for a while."

"By the way, this is Weibai Town."

She straightened up, looked around, and her face showed anticipation for her new life.

"What do you think of the surrounding environment? We'll be making our home here from now on."

"The location is a bit remote, but it should be quite comfortable to stay in."

Mom smiled slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"And also, this time you finally have your own little room. You don't have to share a room with Dad anymore."

After saying that, she turned and walked into the house with light steps.

Come in and take a look!

Only after his mother's figure disappeared through the door did Daigo relax his shoulders, which had been tense for some time.

Suddenly there's a mother or something in the game —

To be honest, even though he's such a grown man, he's still a little unaccustomed to it.

But the smile that instantly bloomed on the other person's face, the concerned question, the natural dust-patting gesture—

Every detail is unbelievably realistic.

Even someone like him, who knew it was a virtual world, couldn't help but be touched by that enthusiasm and care.

"Ugh, really—"

Daigo sighed helplessly and walked into the house.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.

"Wait, is this Weibai Town?"

Before he could think it through, his mother called out to him with a smile from inside the house.

"What are you still standing outside for? Come on in!"

"They're here."

He suppressed his distracting thoughts for the time being and followed them inside.

Inside the room, several burly, powerful creatures were carrying boxes in an orderly fashion.

Their movements are gentle, a stark contrast to their rugged appearance.

"Look! Doesn't this place feel just like home?"

Pointing to the busy Machamp, Mom said with a smile, "The Pokémon from Rocket Delivery Company are so kind! They not only helped us unload all the boxes, but they also helped us clean up."

"We really owe them a lot this time!"

Upon hearing the praise, the several powerful creatures stopped what they were doing and quickly ran to their mother, standing in a neat row.

"just!"

He straightened his chest and gave a rather standard bow.

The proud little expression on his face was so vivid.

This scene left Daigo slightly stunned.

The reactions of these strange creatures were completely unexpected, so vivid that he momentarily forgot it was just a game.

Are even the Pokémon characters depicted so realistically and meticulously?

That's really impressive.

The things were quickly packed up, and the super-strong creatures bowed to their mother again to say goodbye before leaving the house in a line.

As they were leaving, the leader turned back and waved to Daigo, as if to say, "Have a good stay, kid."

Daigo subconsciously waved his hand as well.

He only realized what he was doing halfway through the swing and awkwardly withdrew it.

Luckily, no one saw it.

No, Bai Zhou is definitely watching from outside.

Forget it, forget it.

Only then did Mom refocus her attention on Daigo, her tone light and cheerful.

"Xiaoyou, go upstairs and check your room. Dad bought you a new alarm clock to celebrate your move."

She paused, as if suddenly remembering something.

"However, the time on the alarm clock hasn't been fine-tuned yet, so why don't you go and adjust it?"

"Alarm clock----?"

Daigo was a little confused and wanted to ask a few more questions, but when he saw his mother's gentle smile, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Forget it.

Although he is currently playing a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, he is actually a mature adult in real life.

I simply can't accept the excessive concern from the "mother" in the game.

This feeling even made him feel a little shy.

Based on this, Daigo decisively went upstairs.

However, before turning around, he still obediently responded.

"understood."

at the same time.

In reality, Bai Zhou, who was sitting outside the virtual pod watching the live feed, was all smiles. He took out his phone and started recording.

"I never expected that Daigo, who is always so elegant in everything he does, would be so shy in front of his 'mother' in the game, not even daring to say a word."

He kept clicking his tongue in amazement as he recorded the video, his eyes full of smiles.

"If this were broadcast live, the entertainment value would be absolutely explosive! It's truly amazing how virtual reality technology works; even if you know it's fake, you'll still instinctively feel shy."

On the screen, Daigo's back view as he went upstairs looked like he was "fleeing in panic".

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'll have to treasure this."

Bai Zhou pressed the save button and nodded in satisfaction.

I put this precious video into a folder called "Champion's Dark History" and even thoughtfully encrypted it.

In just a short while, Daigo had already walked up the stairs and opened the door to his room.

The room wasn't big, but it was decorated very warmly.

A single bed by the window, with a small desk next to it and a lamp on it.

Opposite the desk, against the wall, is a huge screen with the computer tower below it.

A Pokédex is embedded next to the console, and several Pokémon game cartridges are scattered around it.

And the most conspicuous place in the room.

A huge Snorlax plush toy sat against the wall, its round body taking up almost half the room, lounging there with an endearingly clumsy expression.

Simple, yet it exudes the feel of home in every detail.

Daigo stood at the door for a while and inexplicably felt that the room was quite comfortable.

He went into the room and began to try to "interact" with the furniture.

It's called an interaction, but it's really just trying to see if it can be used directly.

Daigo reached out and touched the Snorlax plushie.

It has a fluffy, soft texture, and you can even press it down.

He couldn't resist pinching it a couple more times.

"————It's quite stress-relieving."

, 7

As soon as I opened the wardrobe door upon arriving at it, my perspective changed.

The perspective has switched from first person to third person.

The image of "Xiao You" was officially presented to him face to face.

Wearing a red and black fitted training uniform, carrying a small crossbody bag, and a white mesh cap, he looked quite capable and handsome.

A row of options popped up next to it.

Hats, shirts, pants, shoes, accessories —

But the prerequisite is that you can only change into these clothes if you have them in your wardrobe, so it seems that you still have to buy the equipment yourself.

Regarding appearance, the system indicates that there is only one free opportunity to change it. You can either customize your own face or import a scan of your real appearance.

"Think carefully, you only get one chance to make a free change."

Bai Zhou's voice rang out at just the right moment, someone who loved watching the drama unfold.

"If you want to change it again, you'll have to go to a barbershop or beauty salon in town, which will cost money—by the way, do you think we should add an in-app purchase recharge channel? How about exchanging real currency for game currency at a ratio of 1:100?"

"Oh, this—"

Daigo was speechless; Shirafusa's perverse sense of humor was truly everywhere.

"That won't be necessary—"

He thought about it and decided not to use the opportunity to change it, keeping the default appearance.

It's not that I don't want to change it, but the default image is already pleasing to the eye enough, so there's no need to do anything extra.

Daigo closed the wardrobe, his gaze falling on the screen connected to the main unit.

"This is... a game console?"

He walked to the screen, bent down, picked up the scattered cassette tape next to him, and tried to insert it.

The Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen launch screen actually popped up on the screen, and music started playing.

A pixelated shooting star streaks across the night sky, revealing the Pokémon Studio logo.

Daigo stared at the screen for a while, then silently logged out.

"Outrageous!"

He couldn't help but whisper, his tone tinged with absurdity.

"Playing a game within a game — that feels so weird."

It's like dreaming within a dream.

The layers upon layers of virtuality make one wonder where the boundaries of reality truly lie.

"This is called a matryoshka doll."

Bai Zhou's voice rang in his ears, tinged with laughter.

"Players will feel a sense of familiarity when they see the previous game in the game, and it's also an Easter egg proving that this world and the previous game are from the same universe."

Daigo shook his head helplessly and was about to leave the game console when he caught a glimpse of something pressing down on the console's base.

He reached out and pulled out a small red and white bottle.

"Medicine: A spray-type medicine that restores 20 HP to a Pokémon."

"Even this Easter egg is there—"

Daigo looked at the small bottle in his hand and couldn't help but laugh.

"You want to recreate that Easter egg where you find healing potions on the computer at the start?"

"Classics will live on forever."

Bai Zhou's voice was tinged with smugness.

"Starting the game by rummaging through drawers and cabinets at home to find items is an action ingrained in our DNA."

Daigo put the medicine into his bag and looked around the room again.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting warm dappled patterns on the floor.

The leaves outside the window rustled in the breeze.

Everything was so quiet, so real.

He suddenly felt a little dazed.

If he hadn't known it was a game, he probably would have really thought he was that seventeen-year-old boy.

I've just moved to a small, unfamiliar town and I'm full of expectations for the future.

"That's amazing!"

He said softly.

Then his gaze fell on the wall, where a brand new alarm clock hung.

This must be the "new alarm clock" that Mom was talking about.

"Next—it's time to adjust the time."

Daigo stepped forward and reached out to turn the knob on the back of the alarm clock.

The numbers were ticking, and he tried to adjust the hands from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Outside the window, the sunlight suddenly changed.

It felt like someone had pressed the fast-forward button, and the light and shadows flew by in the room, from the warm afternoon sun to the twilight, from the nightfall to the first light of dawn.

The whole process took only a few seconds, but it felt so real it was almost unreal.

Daigo stood still, gazing at the rapidly passing scenery outside the window, his eyes fixed on it for a long time.

"This feeling—"

He murmured, "It's amazing."

"A common feature in games: skipping time."

Bai Zhou's voice rang out, unusually devoid of any teasing.

"But experiencing it in virtual reality must feel different, right?"

"It's more than just different."

Daigo took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil in his heart.

"It's almost like—controlling time."

He paused for a moment, then tried to turn the time back to the afternoon.

The sunlight shifted again, eventually settling back to its original state.

"interesting."

This sense of control over time and the world is far more captivating than any dazzling special effects.

After adjusting the time, Daigo turned and went downstairs.

As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, his mother ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to the TV in the living room.

Downstairs, Mom, who was watching TV, heard footsteps, immediately looked up, and greeted her with a smile.

"Xiao You! Come quick, come quick!"

She took Daigo's hand and led him to the television.

"Look! They're showing news about the Orange Blossom Dojo on TV! Dad might be on TV!"

Daigo looked at the screen.

In the video, a man dressed in a dojo uniform is being interviewed, with a lazy-looking dog named "Qingjiawang" standing next to him.

But before Daigo could see the person's face clearly, the scene changed.

"Reporter: That concludes our report on the Orange Blossom Gym. Next, our Nebula Exhibition will bring you a once-in-a-millennium meteor shower —"

"Ah—it's over."

Mom sighed with some regret.

"Your dad should have been on the show, but we missed it, what a pity."

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