The Eight Gyms and Pokémon Centers

"Hello, this is Silicon Oasis... Mr. Lin! Ah, okay, okay."

Meyer hung up the phone, hastily canceled the scheduled business meeting, and drove directly to Lin Lixin.

"Mr. Meyer, I'm sorry to trouble you again."

Lin Lixin welcomed him into the house.

Even now, after a deep friendship, Meyer still carries the same sense of helplessness he had in the past when facing Lin Lixin.

If Schwarzenegger and Brandon Lee benefited the most from the exposure brought by Gamenova, then Silicon Oasis definitely benefited the most commercially.

Silicon Oasis's sales network extends from Los Angeles to Seattle.

"What trouble or inconvenience! Mr. Lin, you are like a second parent to me, my living father."

Meyer waved his hand, making it clear that he intended to cling to this incredibly powerful and influential figure.

"Just tell me what you want, whether it's a new arcade game or a console game, I guarantee I'll sell them all, every single one!"

"Mr. Meyer, it's not about selling anything this time, but we really need your help."

Lin Lixin gestured for him to calm down and to put away his obsequious manner.

He reached out and took the documents Sam handed him, placing them on the table, facing Meyer.

Meyer followed his hand and scanned the document. The cover clearly stated: [Construction Plan for Pokémon Center and Eight Gyms]

"Poke, Mon..."

Meyer tried to pronounce the neologism and realized that it must be a combination of the words "Pocket" and "Monster".

"Mr. Lin, is this Pokemon the new game from Gamenova? Are you planning to build a themed store for it?"

He hadn't read the full text of the document yet, but he had already guessed some of it.

That's one way to understand it.

Lin Lixin nodded and took the initiative to open the document to explain this simply unbelievable plan to Meyer.

"I hope that every game store in every region can set up a dedicated area, which I call the ' Pokémon Center.' As for how it should be decorated..."

As they were talking, Sam brought out a machine from the inner room that Meyer had never seen before.

As Sam slammed the heavy machine onto the table, its true form was fully revealed to Meyer.

The main body of the machine is bright red, and there is a drive device on each of the left and right sides that allows floppy disks to be inserted.

The back features a telephone line jack and a standard power connector.

On the front is an LCD screen.

"What... what is this?"

Meyer stared in disbelief at the machine before him.

Judging from the interface setup alone, it seems very similar to the floppy disk fax machines displayed in game stores today.

But this thing is definitely not that simple.

"We call it the ' Pokémon Trading Machine '," Lin Lixin said, patting the machine and calling out its name.

This thing is still just an empty shell; it won't be truly usable until the Pokémon console version is completed.

After saying that, Lin Lixin continued to flip through the documents and explained the detailed plan for the Pokémon Center.

After all the currently confirmed plans had been explained, Meyer sat there in a daze.

He glanced at Lin Lixin, then at the machine on the table, and suddenly felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

Can a game be played in such elaborate ways?

"Mr. Lin... convincing those stores to accept this proposal won't be easy, but I will do my best."

Meyer picked up the document and flipped through a few more pages.

"Then what does this ' Eight Gyms ' mean?"

"Well... we'll have to wait and see."

That day, several large game stores and arcades in California suddenly and mysteriously set aside a renovation area inside their stores.

And as time went on, this phenomenon, centered on Los Angeles, began to gradually Fallout to the surrounding areas.

Many curious gamers have offered their own speculations, believing it must be a move by GAMENOVA, which has been keeping a low profile recently.

There were even several instances of people sneaking in unnoticed, intending to investigate.

However, the intelligence gathered at the front lines yielded nothing beyond the fact that the interior design was very simple and refreshing.

There was no new equipment, nor any other suspicious leads.

Before long, GAMENOVA's actions completely confirmed that the whole thing was indeed their new plan.

Almost overnight, GAMENOVA made a bold move, acquiring eight buildings across the United States and embarking on a large-scale renovation project.

The decor is exactly the same as that of arcades, only the theme is different.

The locations of the eight buildings are also quite interesting; it's unclear whether this was intentional.

The first one was located near the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and its overall design incorporates a great deal of geological archaeology and primitive megalithic elements.

The second one is located in Chicago, the second largest city in the America, adjacent to the Great Lakes Region, and features facilities such as a public swimming pool and a small aquarium.

The third one returned to California and was located in the Silicon Valley technology park, with technological and electrical elements such as circuit boards and transistors adorning the walls and facilities.

The fourth one is also located near Sequoia National Park in California, and it makes extensive use of natural elements, with stylized decorations such as plants and vines.

The fifth one, located in the Louisiana Marshland, has a rather perplexing design. Unlike the previous ones, its interior is filled with bottles and jars, and disturbing chemical warning signs are plastered everywhere.

The sixth location is in Las Vegas, Nevada, and incorporates "illusion" elements such as playing cards and magic.

The seventh one, in New Mexico, features elements such as clay art and volcanoes.

The last one is located in Texas, featuring a striking industrial design with a replica of an oil well on the roof.

Such a large-scale construction project naturally caused a sensation in the gaming industry.

No one expected that after GAMENOVA's impressive comeback with Story of Seasons, they would create such a huge stir so soon after.

Electronic Games published a special feature on this topic, speculating on GAMENOVA's purpose in this operation by marking the locations of the Eight Gyms on a map.

"In my opinion, these eight buildings cover all directions of the local area, clearly an attempt by GAMENOVA to establish its own flagship store."

"Under its past business model, GAMENOVA has always acted as a 'manufacturer.' I believe this is an important attempt by them to fully transform towards complete autonomy."

"As for the different styles of the eight buildings? I believe this is to adapt to the local natural environment and find the most suitable theme style, which must be a clever touch from GAMENOVA."

"Lin, do you think this is written correctly?" Steve handed the pre-printed sample to Lin Lixin.

"Not bad, let's keep it this way."