The emergence of GTS is absolutely fantastic news for trainers who haven't yet completed their Pokédex or who have only recently started playing.
Over the past few years, although the trainer community continues to grow, overall community activity has actually declined.
After all, there haven't been any sequels for several years, and Pokémon doesn't support the native Workshop like Civilization does.
To maintain community activity, the only options are to participate in related events held in various locations and occasionally make their presence felt in other GAMENOVA titles.
This has led to a very awkward problem.
Sometimes, getting your desired Pokémon isn't so easy.
During its peak popularity, any Pokémon Center you entered was packed with people.
Let alone getting a version-limited one, even if you plan to complete your collection here, it won't take long.
But now things are a little more complicated.
For those who are particularly hesitant to speak up, this need for social interaction is nothing short of torture.
The emergence of the GTS perfectly solved this problem.
All you have to do is set the Pokémon, and then you can swagger home and wait.
You don't need to stand here and wait, nor do you need to rely on luck or force yourself to muster the courage to communicate with others.
Even introverted and withdrawn trainers no longer need to spend their own money to buy two versions in order to complete the Pokédex.
Even though this feature has only been out for a day, some people have already started analyzing the needs of various Pokémon and attempting to make big profits with small investments.
This is the classic story of the Straw Millionaire.
I only have an ordinary Rattata, the kind that not many people are interested in and that you can find anywhere.
Although it's almost impossible for me to directly trade it for a super rare legendary Pokémon Mewtwo.
However, as long as you keep exchanging Pokémon of similar value and have enough patience, you may eventually be able to get the Pokémon you want with a small investment.
"It's really lively."
Gerald checked the server load and was amazed.
He had anticipated today's popularity and had made arrangements for server resource allocation in advance.
Just in case, they even leased a batch of IBM servers this time.
If the load becomes unbearable, these servers will immediately take over, allowing enough time to continue deploying new data centers.
"This is nothing."
Sam, pen and paper in hand, followed Gerald in recording some of the data. "According to Lin, this system will become increasingly outrageous in the future, tsk tsk."
Sam felt a surge of excitement just thinking about the details of the new second-generation mechanism that Lin Lixin had previously revealed to him.
"What do you mean? He already has a plan?"
Gerald raised an eyebrow and looked at Sam.
The design work on NovaPocketCompact is still in progress; they haven't even gotten a test platform out yet, and Lin Lixin already has a complete project plan?
"Yes—I can understand why he would spend so much money to deploy this system—"
Sam sounded excited.
Don't be fooled by how much money this Pokémon remodeling project has cost; it's even comparable to the infrastructure expenditure when Neus was expanding the Internet in its early days.
But the commercial value it held was simply too tempting for him.
This isn't some straightforward benefit like cash or cash receipts.
Rather, it's something more subtle.
It's not about price, but about value.
"Imagine a world where each Pokémon possesses distinct characteristics, whether in personality, gender, or growth potential. Furthermore, they can interbreed and reproduce, with offspring inheriting attributes from their parents according to specific rules—"
If Pokémon Red and Green popularized the concepts of battling and trading, then Lin Lixin's next project can be seen as completing the final element of its three core gameplay elements.
Develop/cultivate.
"This forest management system is called—uh—what was it again? It doesn't matter, anyway, it's incredibly powerful."
In fact, this system is already running covertly in the current GTS.
As the person in charge of the server aspect, Gerald does indeed have some understanding of this.
"No wonder Lin rejected my proposed optimized database structure from the very beginning of the design process."
Every piece of data stored on the server obviously requires storage space.
In this era where storage is more valuable than gold, any waste of resources must be avoided as much as possible.
At the beginning, Lin Lixin had mentioned to him that he planned to create a complex form.
Each Pokémon is assigned a unique ID code after being logged into the Pokémon HOME system.
That's right, it's each individual instance, not every Pokémon.
This means that if ten million Charmander were uploaded to Pokémon HOME, the servers would actually store ten million completely different IDs.
The storage costs involved are staggering.
"My original idea was that we should just store the Pokémon's ID and the corresponding quantity, and at most map it to the player's personal information from their membership card."
If we follow his proposed solution, the server usage can be reduced by more than half.
However, as soon as he proposed the plan, Lin Lixin immediately rejected it.
"He has his own ideas, sigh... he's getting old..."
Gerald sighed.
The older you get, the less you can keep up with what people are thinking.
He's recently felt increasingly the need to start looking for a successor.
If he were to work himself to death one night, Lin Lixin would have to shoulder an even heavier burden.
"Come on, you haven't seen what's going on in Japan. I've been there a few times for business."
As Sam jotted down the data, he casually remarked, "A bunch of old men, you wouldn't believe it, at first glance I thought I'd wandered into a nursing home."
There is indeed a significant difference between Japan and American company cultures.
In this era of rapid development, these young Silicon Valley startups occupy the absolute mainstream of high technology.
Whether it's Dell, Jobs, David K. Lam, or those producers working hard in the game industry, young people definitely make up the majority.
In contrast, the atmosphere of powerful clans and powerful families is much stronger in Japan.
These are often family businesses of certain conglomerates, with job positions so subdivided that they give him a headache.
"Let me put it this way, at your age, you'd be considered a cute little boy in Japan."
It must be said that the GTS is indeed a very stunning design.
Marc so engrossed in playing that he couldn't stop once he got the hang of it.
But he soon encountered a very troublesome problem.
[ Pokémon slots in GTS: 1/1]
It's full!
Unlike the Pal Park, which can accommodate up to 30 animals, GTS only allows him to carry one.
Unless you voluntarily remove it or someone else completes the exchange, you cannot upload any more exchange requests.
"I just asked the staff over there, and if the advanced plan is activated, it allows for the storage of up to three animals."
"Ha?"
Well, now the true colors are finally revealed.
For just $4 a month, you can activate the advanced plan for your campus card.
Both the slots in the Pal Park and the GTS slots can be expanded.
"I think it's acceptable. The annual fee is only $20, which isn't even as expensive as a game cartridge."
John stood there with his arms crossed, offering his opinions.
This advanced plan is practically the only other source of revenue at the entire Pokémon Center besides shopping.
If your usage needs are not high, you don't need to activate the advanced features at all.
In a sense, it's actually quite conscientious.
After all, internet services inherently require a service fee.
"I don't think I can avoid this today."
Marc sighed speechlessly.
Leaving aside the Pal Park, the GTS definitely doesn't have enough slots.
After all, this asynchronous design often requires waiting time.
Having more slots would really increase the efficiency of the exchange process significantly.
"If you ask me, given Gamenova's track record, this thing will definitely have a new purpose when the sequel comes out. I think making it free now is a sure-fire way to make money."
John shook his head, weighing the pros and cons. After a while, he stopped, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, we're destined to meet today. Let's go, it's on me."
There was a time when John was like that too, scrimping and saving to support his beloved games, even working several part-time jobs at the same time.
Now, thanks to games, my life is slowly getting better.
Because I've been caught in the rain before, I especially want to hold an umbrella for others.
It's only $20, why not let the kid have some fun?
"Really? Thank you, Uncle."
The two of them wandered around the Pokémon Center until dark.
After having a good time at the GTS, Marc finally took John to see the legendary Pal Park.
Watching him toss the enormous Charizard into the group of little cuties, Marc's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.
It wasn't until the staff informed them that the museum was about to close that the two seemed to snap out of a daze and began packing their things.
"Wrong!"
Marc suddenly stopped, as if he had just remembered something important, and shouted, "We forgot to check the third floor!"
"Oh my god!"
John's eyes widened in disbelief, and he immediately began to beat his chest in regret.
There were so many good things on the second floor that they completely forgot about the third floor.
Random battles and multiplayer battles!
Damn it, how could I forget something so important!
I waited in line all morning before being let in.
When these trainers, who had had their fun, go back today and tell the people around them and the media what happened, they'll find out.
If this situation escalates, there will only be more people involved tomorrow!
"Wan Liao----"
It's all Gamenova's fault! Why did they make such a ridiculous trading system so fun?