” The basic framework had been completed.
Step Three.
Character design.
Long before the idea of making a game had fully taken shape, Gray had already contacted the various Gym Leaders and obtained authorization to use their likenesses.
Thanks to the relationships he had built over the years, most of them did not even bother asking what he intended to do.
The moment he brought it up, they simply agreed without hesitation.
As for the first-generation protagonist group, there was even less need to worry.
However…
There was one person who made him hesitate.
Not only within the game itself, but also in the real adventure he had once experienced.
The ultimate mastermind behind everything.
Giovanni.
Gray’s feelings toward that man were extremely complicated.
In the previous world, Giovanni, the leader of Rainbow Rocket who sought to conquer the world, had been his mortal enemy.
The two had been completely irreconcilable.
Like fire and water.
Yet in this world, thanks to the butterfly effect caused by Gray’s actions, their relationship had evolved into something strangely ambiguous.
Neither friend nor enemy.
Yet somehow both.
A silent understanding existed between them.
Under Gray’s influence, the Giovanni of this world still carried stains that could never be erased.
For example, his involvement in capturing Pokémon and various activities associated with Team Rocket.
Those black marks remained.
However, he had never walked down the same path as the Rainbow Rocket Giovanni who pursued absolute world domination.
Instead, he had developed a unique charisma and personality of his own.
Originally, Gray had only wanted to create a simple little game for personal entertainment.
Something to commemorate his youth.
Something to preserve those old memories.
As for the villain?
Any random original character could have filled the role.
But things were different now.
What he wanted was authenticity.
The genuine article.
The purest possible recreation of those memories.
“Ah…” “This is troublesome.” Gray scratched his bird’s nest of messy hair in frustration.
After taking out his phone, he stared at a certain special contact for a very long time.
Eventually, he pressed the call button.
Beep…
Beep…
Beep…
Click.
The call connected.
A brief silence followed.
Then a deep voice emerged from the receiver.
Steady.
Heavy.
Filled with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“Speak.” “Well…” For perhaps the first time in a long while, Gray felt somewhat awkward.
The first time he had ever voluntarily called Giovanni, and it was for something as ridiculous as obtaining character rights for a video game.
“I want to make a game with Red as the protagonist.” “You’ll appear as a character in it.” “So I’ll need permission to use your likeness.” The voice on the other end remained calm.
No emotion could be heard.
“If it’s something like that, do as you please.” A brief pause followed.
Then Giovanni spoke again.
His tone sounded casual, almost as though the question had only occurred to him in passing.
“…How has Silver been lately?” “I haven’t seen him in quite a while either.” Gray raised an eyebrow.
As he recalled some recent photos he had seen on Gold’s social media feed, he answered: “Judging from Gold’s posts, he’s probably doing pretty well.” Well.
That was assuming one ignored the fact that Gold constantly managed to anger Silver until he nearly exploded.
“I see.” Giovanni responded with a simple acknowledgment.
Just as Gray assumed the conversation was ending, the steady voice spoke once more.
“There is no need to hide Team Rocket’s past actions.” “You may portray them truthfully.” After a slight pause, he added: “But…” “Don’t make me look too weak.” “I understand.” A knowing smile appeared on Gray’s face.
He knew Giovanni did not care in the slightest about public opinion.
This request was not for himself.
It was for Silver.
After all, no child wanted to see their father portrayed as weak in a game.
Once the call ended, Gray let out a long breath.
The most difficult authorization had been secured.
Next came the true heart of the game.
The Pokémon battle system.
As for turn-based combat?
Gray had never even considered it.
What he wanted was realism.
Pure realism.
A real-time command system.
Directly connected to the League’s enormous battle database.
Players would be able to experience Pokémon battles that came infinitely close to reality itself.
As for whether players could actually win?
Why were they looking at him?
If they could not win, then they should go level up.
If their tactics got completely crushed, then they could use higher stats to crush their opponents in return.
Gray felt entirely justified in thinking this way.
After all, wasn’t that one of the core principles of Pokémon battles?
Besides official Gym battles and League matches, wild battles without restrictions would also remain in the game.
Players could directly control their Trainer character.
Dodging attacks through movement.
Interfering with opponents by throwing Poké Balls.
Taking advantage of environmental terrain.
Using every available tool.
The result would be battles that were more exciting, more unpredictable, and far more realistic.
As for character models, Gray chose a realistic three-dimensional style.
The League archives contained extensive information and high-definition recordings of every Gym Leader.
He extracted their most iconic characteristics.
Converted them into detailed 3D models.
Rendered them into beautiful artwork.
Then he imported advanced AI behavioral models and placed them directly into the game world.
His goal was to make every character behave as closely to a real person as possible.
Compared to all that, the remaining work was relatively simple.
He gathered together all the resources he had prepared beforehand.
Story scripts.
Quest lines.
Environmental assets.
Interactive objects.
Every piece of content was integrated into the game’s framework.
As long as the entire story could run smoothly within the open-world setting, the project would be considered a success.
As for bonus features like music, visual refinements, and user interface improvements?
Those could wait.
For now, the rough electronic background music he had created earlier would do.
Visual details only needed to be good enough.
As long as the game ran properly, that was sufficient.
This was merely a test version.
Once the core gameplay had been finalized, everything else could be polished later during official development.
Suddenly, a dazzling beam of sunlight burst through the window.
The unexpected brightness forced Gray to squint.
Only then did he realize something.
He had worked straight through the entire night.
Without sleeping.
Rubbing his sore eyes, which were surrounded by heavy dark circles, he stretched his stiff body.
Then he packaged the preliminary version of the game.
Compiled it.
Launched it.
Ran test after test.
After confirming that the game could at least function properly and that no major bugs were immediately apparent, he copied the rough but playable build onto a physical storage card.
Looking at the small card resting in his hand, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
Creating Pokémon with his own hands.
Creating Pokémon in a real Pokémon world.
In a certain sense, he had finally fulfilled the dream of the young boy he once was.
Naturally, the game would follow the classic dual-version format.
FireRed and LeafGreen.
After all, Pokémon’s core gameplay was not just battling.
Social interaction and trading accounted for half the experience as well.
However, there was no need to pursue perfection for the testing phase.
A single-player demo would be enough for now.
That left only one final step.
Who should serve as the guinea pig— Ahem.
Who should serve as the game tester?
Gray rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
A friendly smile slowly appeared on his face.
Surely nobody understood his own adventures better than the people who had actually lived through them.
Right?
Red?
Opening his phone, Gray logged into the PokeNet application.
Since it was an official communication platform specially developed by the United League for Trainers, it supported cross-regional communication and made creating group chats extremely convenient.
He created a new group.
Then casually entered a name.
“Pokémon Game Discussion Group” Afterward, he expressionlessly scrolled through his contact list.
With uncanny precision, he located several individuals who constantly found excuses to bother him.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
One by one, he dragged them into the group chat.
The battle maniac with no common sense.
The perpetually grumpy tsundere.
The thieving little trickster.
The lonely little sun who hated being alone.
Then he waited.
A minute passed.
Silence.
Another minute.
Still nothing.
“Fine.” “Looks like everyone’s busy.” “They’re all busy.
That’s good.” Gray muttered to himself.
Turning off the screen, he dragged his utterly exhausted body toward his beloved bed.
His steps wobbled from side to side.
At this point, he felt as though his soul had been completely hollowed out.
However, what he did not know was that at the exact moment the screen went dark, four system notifications quietly appeared.
Each notification shimmered with the unmistakable glow of official certification.
[BattleMan has joined the group chat.] [TheNurturer has joined the group chat.] [EvolutionSage has joined the group chat.] [Healer has joined the group chat.] (End of Chapter)