The Second Game: Pokémon World

The Second Game: Pokémon World

When the third empty slot on the Team Evaluation Rankings lit up, the shop did not immediately erupt into noise.

It was not that no one wanted to speak. Everyone was staring at the new words.

Three-team rotation reservations open.

Support-type trial team applications open.

Yellow Wind Ridge Approach, second section. Sandgate Village Entrance.

Those three lines were enough to make people restless. Shrek had just taken first place for the stage. Although Spirit Hall had fallen one step short, they had earned the hidden evaluation of "Follow the Lantern's Light." Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had just added a support-type trial team to the reservation book. By all rights, the next round should have been the three teams continuing their battle in Yellow Wind Ridge, seeing who could seize a new evaluation at Sandgate Village Entrance first.

Yet Lin Chuan did not immediately turn over the time plaque.

Another line suddenly appeared on the system panel before his eyes.

[Shop popularity has met the requirement.]

[Second game unlocked.]

[Game title: Pokémon.]

[New Trainer test area opened.]

[Synchronize function: Capture Registration.]

[Real-World Transfer function: enabled.]

Lin Chuan's fingers paused.

Real-World Transfer.

Those four words carried more weight than every prompt before them.

He did not speak at once. Instead, he continued reading the full explanation. It was as though the system knew what concerned him; rule after rule appeared below.

[Pokémon are an independent life system, not Soul Beasts.]

[Pokémon do not produce Spirit Rings or Spirit Bones and cannot be absorbed by Soul Masters.]

[Pokémon abilities, types, categories, moves, Abilities, and item effects are subject to the Pokédex and item descriptions.]

[After a successful capture and completion of Trainer registration, Pokémon may be brought to the Douluo Continent.]

[Test-period restriction: Each Trainer may transfer a maximum of one Pokémon into the real world, and may register a maximum team of six in the shop.]

[Any hunting, killing, dissection, forced absorption, or Soul Beast conversion will trigger forced Poké Ball recall and placement on the shop blacklist.]

After reading the final rule, Lin Chuan felt steadier instead.

Being able to bring them out was the exciting part.

But the rules could not be vague.

If Pokémon were treated as Soul Beasts and hunted down the moment they entered the Douluo Continent, then this whole path would be ruined. They were not Soul Beasts, and they should not be dragged into the Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone system. This string of restrictions from the system had effectively blocked off the most dangerous crooked path in advance.

He picked up a new wooden plaque from the counter and wrote on it again.

Everyone in the shop was waiting for the next round in Yellow Wind Ridge. Seeing that Lin Chuan had not announced anything for so long, Yue Guan was the first to raise a brow.

"Boss Lin, could there be something new again?"

After finishing the final stroke, Lin Chuan turned the wooden plaque around.

[Second game: Pokémon. Testing begins today.]

The shop fell silent for a moment.

Ma Hongjun blinked.

"Pokémon? What kind of monster is that?"

"Not a monster."

Lin Chuan hung up the plaque, then posted the rules beneath it.

[Pokémon are not Soul Beasts.]

[They cannot be hunted for Spirit Rings or Spirit Bones.]

[They cannot be forcibly absorbed.]

[They may be captured using Poké Balls in the game and brought out after completing Trainer registration.]

[All Pokémon and item effects are subject to the Pokédex and item descriptions.]

At the first few lines, the people in the shop were merely surprised.

But when they saw the words "brought out," every sound was cut off.

Ning Fengzhi's hand stopped at the edge of the table.

The smile on Yue Guan's face faded slightly as well.

Grandmaster nearly took half a step forward on instinct. Even Chen Xin lifted his gaze toward the sheet of rules.

"Brought out?"

Grandmaster's voice tightened slightly.

"Boss Lin, when you say brought out, do you mean out of the game and into our world?"

Lin Chuan nodded.

"Once you complete the capture and Trainer registration, yes."

"They are not Soul Beasts?"

"No."

"They do not have Spirit Rings?"

"No."

"They do not have Spirit Bones?"

"Neither."

Grandmaster's lips moved, but for a moment, he could not bring himself to say anything else.

This was more shocking than anything Grand Dao Internet Cafe had presented before.

Black Wind Mountain or Yellow Wind Ridge, even if the games offered rewards, reviews, and insights that could change training methods, it was still fundamentally Soul Masters becoming stronger themselves. But this was different. If Pokémon could be brought out, then low-level Soul Masters, support-types, and even ordinary people might possess a partner entirely outside the Soul Beast system.

They produced no Spirit Rings and no Spirit Bones.

Yet they could fight, grow, and obey their Trainer's commands.

For the Douluo Continent's existing understanding, this was practically a breach opened at its very foundation.

Ning Fengzhi looked at Lin Chuan. His voice remained gentle, but it was far more solemn than before.

"Boss Lin, can ordinary people become Trainers too?"

Lin Chuan said, "Whether you can capture one depends on your skills in the game. Whether you can raise one well depends on your skills as a Trainer. Soul Power is not a threshold."

The moment those words fell, Zhou Ping abruptly raised his head.

He had been crouched beside the Strategy Board, copying down the "Lantern Bearer reminder privilege." Upon hearing this, the charcoal pencil in his hand nearly fell to the floor.

Soul Power was not a threshold.

To others, those words were merely something new. But to a low-level Soul Master like him, they were almost like a bell ringing beside his ear. Grand Dao Internet Cafe had always allowed him to see that he could take a few more steps, but that had still been inside a game. If Pokémon could truly be brought out, then the meaning was completely different.

Yue Guan did not speak in a hurry.

He was considering something else.

Spirit Hall had the most Soul Masters and the most complete Soul Beast hunting system. But if this new game allowed non-Soul Masters to gain battle partners, would Spirit Hall's advantage be diluted? Or, if Spirit Hall mastered the Trainer system first, would it gain an even greater advantage than everyone else?

The corner of his eye swept toward Hu Liena.

Hu Liena was also looking at the rules.

She said nothing, but her gaze had already changed.

After holding back for a long while, Ma Hongjun finally could not help asking, "Boss Lin, are there any Fire-types? Preferably the kind that looks really fierce."

Yan sneered.

"You want one the moment you see fire."

"Don't you?"

Yan choked on his reply.

Ignoring the two bickering, Lin Chuan pointed to the second shelf of the newly appeared Small Counter.

Beside the Small Counter that had originally held only Refreshing Tea, water, and Review Paper, there was now a row of brand-new compartments. In the first was a red-and-white sphere. The second contained small bottles of Potion. The third was labeled Antidote. The fourth held several orange berries.

[Poké Ball.]

[Potion.]

[Antidote.]

[Oran Berry.]

Each compartment had a price listed beneath it.

Lin Chuan tapped the counter.

"Pokémon items only serve the Pokémon system. Poké Balls are used for capture. Potion, Antidote, Berries, and similar items only work according to their Pokémon item descriptions. They cannot treat human injuries, increase Soul Power, or be used on Soul Beasts."

The eyes that had just lit up for some people immediately dimmed by half.

But Ning Fengzhi and Yue Guan looked even more serious.

The clearer the restrictions, the more it showed that this was not a casual joke. If Lin Chuan dared to write so plainly what could not be done, it often meant that what could be done was real as well.

Lin Chuan opened the reservation book.

"For Pokémon testing, one station will open first. The current queue order remains unchanged."

Quite a few people in the shop turned to look at Zhou Ping at the same time.

Zhou Ping himself was stunned.

He had been next in line.

But now, being next had suddenly changed from continuing to take a beating from Little Demon to entering a new world where he could capture Pokémon.

Zhou Ping stood up in a panic.

"Boss Lin, how about letting them go first? I-I'm afraid I'll hold things up..."

"Follow the order."

Lin Chuan placed a new Synchronized Headband before him.

"You go first."

The moment those words fell, Zhou Ping's heart began racing. He looked at Ning Fengzhi, then Yue Guan, then the people from Shrek and Spirit Hall. No one spoke to make him give up his place. It was not that they did not want to, but because Lin Chuan had already nailed down the rules.

Zhou Ping swallowed and sat down at the station.

The screen lit up.

This time, it was no longer a gloomy mountain road, nor a sky full of yellow sand.

Sunlight fell over the grassland. Wind passed through the treetops, and crisp birdsong came from afar. In the center of the screen, an entirely new interface slowly unfolded.

[Welcome to the Pokémon World.]

[Please register your new Trainer identity.]

[Please choose your initial partner.]

Three silhouettes appeared at once.

A green little beast carrying a seed on its back.

A tiny lizard with a flame burning at the tip of its tail.

A small blue turtle carrying a round shell.

Everyone in the shop held their breath.

The system prompts slowly appeared.

[Bulbasaur.]

[Charmander.]

[Squirtle.]

[Please choose one.]

Ma Hongjun immediately leaned over the screen.

"Charmander! Pick Charmander!"

Yan spoke almost at the same time.

"Pick a Fire-type."

Ning Rongrong said coldly, "It's not your choice."

Zhou Ping's palms were drenched in sweat.

Looking at the three creatures he had never seen before, he suddenly understood why Lin Chuan had written "not Soul Beasts" at the very top. They felt completely different from Soul Beasts. They had none of a prey animal's vicious aura, nor the oppressive presence Soul Beasts carried from age and bloodline. They seemed like lives that had always belonged in another world.

Zhou Ping looked for a long time before finally reaching toward the first silhouette.

"I choose Bulbasaur."

Ma Hongjun let out a miserable cry.

"Why didn't you pick Charmander?!"

Zhou Ping said quietly, "It looks the most reliable."

The next moment, the green little beast opened its eyes, and the seed on its back gave a gentle sway.

[Initial partner confirmed: Bulbasaur.]

[New Trainer Zhou Ping, registration complete.]

Everyone in the shop stared at the screen.

At that moment, a new world had truly opened.