You evolved, so did I.

"Card reader?"

Gerald's attention was drawn away from the 3D-printed resin casing on the table.

This time, he wasn't too surprised by the demand.

Because of this project— Lin Lixin had told him about it a long time ago.

Even the relevant documents were sealed in a filing cabinet.

"Is this the Pokémon HOME we were talking about before? It's finally its turn."

"Indeed."

Lin Lixin nodded.

Pokémon HOME, or more accurately, intergenerational transfer, is an indispensable part of the Pokémon series.

It is also an important component in cultivating loyalty among fans of the series.

However, there were no further plans for Pokémon before, and they only made cameo appearances in various spin-off works.

Take, for example, Nova Kart, a game that connects many of GAMENOVA's IPs.

"Our goal this time is to connect all Pokémon Center nationwide to the internet and integrate them with our membership card system."

GAMENOVA has always had very limited online support.

Aside from some experimental online games, it's basically only used for uploading scores and downloading mods.

In the past, this was because widespread internet access was difficult and telephone lines were expensive, making large-scale application impossible.

Now, at this stage, there is finally a possibility that things can move forward.

"Neus's latest report is out. According to the data, the current internet penetration rate has increased to 1.16%, so all our work wasn't in vain."

Lin Lixin casually picked up a document and placed it in front of Gerald.

This is first-hand data provided by Neus, the ISP (Internet Service Provider) under Gamenova, and it is generally accurate.

Looking at the 1.16% highlighted in red at the top of the summary section, Lin Lixin couldn't help but click his tongue.

My head hurts.

I've used so many powerful moves, yet the Internet path has only suffered a minor setback.

If the infrastructure isn't developed, all his hard work on it will be in vain.

Although it may seem like only a little over one percent, it's actually a remarkably high number.

It's important to know that, according to United States statistics, even around 1996, the penetration rate was less than 10% in the original timeline.

By then, Windows 95 had already been released, and the era of personal computers was already in full swing.

"Oh well, never mind, we'll just have to think about this carefully."

They've done everything they can to get this job done properly.

The rest is up to PC retailers like Dell.

Shaking his head, Lin Lixin decided to temporarily shift his attention away from this matter.

"In short, what I want to do is something similar to Sir-Tech's intergenerational teleportation, but something more radical."

How so?

"Store Pokémon in the cloud."

"Huh? Oh, you mean like the ' Workshop ' we set up for Civilization before? Storing the data on our own servers?"

Gerald hesitated briefly before quickly realizing what was happening.

This is not the first time Lin Lixin has proposed the concept of the cloud.

"Pretty much. After all, this system needs to adapt to all future generations, and writing it in the cloud can solve all subsequent problems once and for all."

Lin Lixin smiled and began to paint a rosy picture for Gerald, "Imagine that in the future, all our Pokémon derivative works will be able to communicate with each other through this system."

"For example, we could create a travel photography game where players use handheld devices to travel around the world and collect Pokémon."

"These Pokémon can also be stored and transferred through Pokémon HOME."

"This system connects every generation and every work."

"In this way, the trainers and their partners truly form—well, to put it more powerfully—a bond, something like that."

In a sense, intergenerational teleportation is like a rudimentary attempt by Game Freak to create a metaverse.

"Ahem—Of course, there are also some business considerations involved."

Lin Lixin adopted a gentlemanly demeanor, stating, "Each sequel adds new Pokémon to the previous generation, but some rare Pokémon cannot be obtained through conventional means."

This is the most twisted aspect of this system.

Like to collect everything? Sorry, you just can't catch these few.

You can either trade with others to further develop our main trading system, or you can simply buy previous generations and try to get the limited editions.

It's quite difficult to maintain an IP, especially a world-class one, without some clever operational tricks.

Throughout history, countless heroes have emerged in the world of game IPs, but Pokémon has always remained a top contender.

Besides the sequels and main series that, despite their inconsistent quality and lack of technical prowess, still maintain production capacity, these peripheral products are also a key component in maintaining its popularity.

"Well----"

Even Gerald, who had initially exuded an air of strategic brilliance, couldn't help but let his lips twitch slightly.

Is there any money in this world that we can't earn?

"Pokémon Center for so many years, it's about time we broke even."

The Pokémon Center project was initially conceived solely to promote the trading function on Pokémon consoles.

It was established because of its capability.

To be honest, when it was first established, it was actually a fairly profitable project.

Whether it's the additional sales boost or its inherent gift shop attributes, it has earned a considerable income from its peripheral products.

However, at this stage, due to the lack of news about a sequel, the hype has been gradually declining.

Furthermore, the operating costs of so many Pokémon Center across the country are actually all expenses of GAMENOVA.

We've actually fallen below the break-even point.

Only projects like the Eight Gyms, which are now entirely tourist attractions, continue to generate a steady stream of revenue.

"Understood. The hardware isn't a problem; it can be done in a few days if we're in a hurry. However, it will take some time for the factory to start mold production."

Gerald quickly gave an answer after roughly estimating the construction period.

Essentially, it's the same old setup, except this time you need to prepare a network modem and a device that can recognize GAMENOVA membership cards.

"Okay, let's get a test platform up and running as soon as possible so I can start preparing to write the program."

Sometimes, Lin Lixin was genuinely puzzled by GF's technical capabilities.

They might call their technical skills terrible, but they always manage to come up with some surprisingly delightful little surprises in unexpected places.

But to say they have good technical skills would be against my conscience.

Pokémon HOME also continues this tradition of Game Freak.

Conceptually speaking, this technology, which evolved from the old-fashioned communication technology, sounds so wonderful.

However, when GF put it into practice, what it brought to players was a hodgepodge of products.

It cleverly combines the drawbacks of various trading methods, and even exhibits significant differences between different versions, much like in Minecraft.

However, the version differences in Minecraft are due to deeply ingrained problems; it was developed using two different languages and two different studios.

GF was a project that was established before any work even started.

The mobile app and the NS app have almost completely different functions.

Even the official wiki has to create separate entries for it, with two different versions.

To turn a software project that was designed from the outset to support multiple platforms into this state—it's truly worthy of being called a game.

Freak.

Fortunately, GAMENOVA's technical capabilities are worlds apart from GameFreak's.

To this day, Lin Lixin has always treated GF's office as an administrative office.

Aside from necessary oversight, GF generally does not participate in core development work.

Only illustrators like Ken Sugimori and planning directors like Satoshi can truly participate in a project.

"Wow, the players in this timeline are eating way too well."

Pokémon has been stuck in the 8-bit era; these guys probably think Gamenova's strength has reached its limit.

I was really underestimated.

"Sam, ask Lucas if he can spare some time to shoot a PV."

As Lin Lixin prepared for the project, he gave Sam a brief explanation.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Oh right, after we're done, let's find someone else. Didn't a few guys actually come here to do the Victory Road Challenge before? Let's contact the guy who got No. 1 and ask him if he'd like to participate in a PV."

Lin Lixin had a rather deep impression of him.

After all, he's Pokémon enthusiast who's ranked No. 1 in both Mew and Victory Road.

He's also someone who has personally played against different teams from GAMENOVA.

Instead of bringing in a Hollywood star to oversee this kind of project, it would be better to directly invite genuine Pokémon enthusiasts to participate.

After saying that, he focused all his attention on the project in front of him.

It's time to show our dear fans what true technical prowess is.

In the pitch black, two lines of small text suddenly lit up on the screen.

[Bring along the Pokémon from your memories]

[Let's embark on a new Adventure together]

Whoosh----splash----

The sound of the wind rushing past the window stirred up the snow on the treetops, scattering it all over the ground.

In just a moment, it seemed to transport you back to that Christmas.

Three years is neither a short nor a long time.

Three years is enough time for a student to complete their high school years.

But when you look back at the end, you'll realize that what seemed like a long time has passed in the blink of an eye.

The black background gradually fades, and the camera focuses on a house in the snow.

Through the steamy window, you could vaguely see the person on the bed engrossed in playing with a NovaPocket.

The camera then zoomed in for a Close-Up.

[What's going on? Charmander is evolving!]

Then, time passed.

The leaves are sprouting new green leaves, and the shop posters have been changed one after another.

One day.

The boy has grown quite a bit taller, and his face has lost some of its childishness.

He was dressed formally, a far cry from his former student attire.

They've obviously graduated.

I don't know if it was on my way home from get off work or after university classes.

One night, he was walking down the street as usual.

The shop windows along the street are filled with a dazzling array of games.

All sorts of devices that were unthinkable before are constantly being introduced, and the dazzling 3D effects are so stunning that they make your head spin.

The man stopped, but his gaze remained unmoved by them.

Instead, it passed through everything around it and stopped on that seemingly ordinary cassette tape.

Pokémon Red

Looking at the cassette tape, the weariness on the man's face vanished.

A smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

The wind subtly blew open his coat, revealing the fire-type gym badge pinned to his inner breast pocket.

The screen slowly returned to black.

You evolved.

[So did I.] (Me too.)

Then, the background music, which had previously only served as background, suddenly became intense.

Eight Charmander, depicted in a mosaic, stood in the center of the screen and suddenly roared to the sky.

Immediately, its body swelled up to a whole size, and its originally monotonous gray color suddenly turned bright red.

[Congratulations! Charmander has evolved into Charmeleon!]

[POKEMON]

[GENERATION II]

[COMINGSOON----]