Because by this stage, half of Netherworld Village's players had run off to the City of Glory to haul supplies.
Carl no longer needed to spend large amounts of premium Contract Stones buying supplies for Netherworld Village's "loot, fight, extract" gaplay loop.
The supply economy for Netherworld Village's extraction runs had also settled into a strange but stable cycle.
A bunch of casual players who just wanted to unwind would happily buy piles of items before heading into the dungeon.
Then they would get killed halfway through the run, dropping everything they had brought with them while everyone else laughed and cheered.
So now, Carl was using the huge number of premium Contract Stones he had earned from Oath's official team to create Pokémon.
The biggest difference between premium Contract Stones and Sacred Contract Stones was their upper limit.
Sacred Contract Stones could be consud to strengthen oneself indefinitely, as long as a character's body could withstand the growth.
But if premium Contract Stones were used to create living beings, then a Combat Rating of around one thousand was basically that creature's limit.
Right now, Carl was mass-producing a large batch of Pokémon with an average Combat Rating of around one hundred.
Then he temporarily placed them into a dormant state and sealed them inside Poké Cards.
During this period, in order to let more main-ga Oath players experience the thrill of Pokémon battles during the upcoming Pokémon League, Carl once again went to ask Doraemon-An, his all-purpose miracle worker, for help.
"You want my Abyssal Knights to split off a portion of their consciousness and act as rental Pokémon, giving temporary tournant players the illusion that they're incredibly strong?"
Anan did not actually mind lending her knights to Carl.
After all, more than a dozen players in Netherworld Village had already successfully ford contracts with the Abyssal Knights. Even as avatars, they were still powerful enough.
This ti, Carl's request was for the mbers under Anan's command to split off a small part of their main consciousness and play the role of native Pokémon.
These native Pokémon, of course, would not permanently belong to the players. They were rentals, ant to let Oath players who ca to watch and wanted to participate get a taste of the action.
"You really are devious, aren't you? You're using rentals to let the Saviors experience the thrill of commanding sothing powerful, only to take that feeling away afterward."
Anan imdiately realized that Carl was also making full use of the "temporary rental" clause in their agreent.
"I'm not taking it away. I'm awakening their desire to raise one themselves. A lot of gas do this. They let players experience the protagonist at full power in the beginning, then take it away and make them slowly unlock that strength again," Carl said.
"And I'll do my best to distinguish between the rental users and the officially registered players."
"Fine. My knights seem to be enjoying their interactions with your players anyway."
Anan had no reason to refuse. Every mber of the Abyssal Knights was a monster-level existence.
Splitting their main consciousness into tens of thousands of avatars was nothing difficult for them.
"Thanks."
So Carl quickly created a large batch of rental Pokémon based on the split consciousnesses of the Abyssal Knights, preparing them for Oath's main-ga players to try out.
After that, Carl still had to spare so attention to give the Saintess special guidance.
What surprised Carl was that the Saintess was poorer than he had expected.
This poverty was not part of her disguise. Rather, it seed that most of the premium Contract Stones and Sacred Contract Stones she earned as a banner character had to be handed over to the Holy Nation.
That was even worse than Hasumi's situation. At least Hasumi could freely use the Contract Stones she earned.
This was probably why the Saintess had spared no effort in winning over the Saviors, constantly trying to climb higher and gain real authority within the Holy Nation.
After all, "Saintess" was ultimately just an empty title. She had almost no military power of her own.
Carl watched as the Saintess practiced combos and spacing techniques with her Pokémon day and night, working tirelessly without complaint.
Could she genuinely be holding a grudge? Was she planning to gain enough player support in the future, return to the Holy Nation's capital, and declare,
"The Saviors stand with . The old order ends today. All of you can step down."
"Miss Player, your improvent is faster than I expected. Perhaps I should teach you a few ways to build your reputation quickly in the first Pokémon League."
Carl looked at the Saintess sitting on the ground, her voice already hoarse. Beside her, her Pokémon lay sprawled out, panting heavily, its fur a complete ss.
After a full day of training, both the Saintess and her Pokémon were completely exhausted.
Most new players could simply play the turn-based mode and enjoy the purest Pokémon battle experience.
The real-ti Pokémon battles Carl had designed could also have a very low barrier to entry. A player only needed to shout, "Dodge!" at their Pokémon, and that was enough.
But if soone wanted to reach the top and beco one of the strongest, the amount of practice required would rise to a terrifying level.
As a trainer, a Pokémon Trainer was not just soone who stood on the sidelines shouting commands.
The first thing the Saintess had to do was observe the opposing Pokémon's movents and attack trajectory.
Then, at the very first possible mont, she had to give her own Pokémon the optimal response. Which move to use, what angle to attack from, and sotis even the exact angle of a punch.
Words alone could not convey those details well, so the Saintess would occasionally perform the attack motions herself from the sidelines to help her Pokémon understand the angle she wanted.
In short, to dominate real-ti combat, both the Pokémon Trainer and the Pokémon needed an enormous amount of practice.
"Is that so? Speaking of which, can you still keep going, Lucca?" The Saintess sat up and handed a berry to the Pokémon beside her.
The Saintess had already learned her Pokémon's true na, Lucario, from the Poké Card's information, so she simply called her Lucca.
And the Saintess's attitude toward her Pokémon was not really that of a master toward a pet. It was closer to colleagues working together.
After all, in the Saintess's view, her future would be spent constantly climbing the ranks within the Holy Nation.
Winning this Pokémon League championship was only a ans to that end.
She also did not plan to invest too much emotion into these Pokémon, since she had no intention of walking the path of a Pokémon Trainer to the very end.
"Groo..."
The Saintess's Lucario remained highly motivated. Carl observed that this Lucario probably had a Hardy nature.
"To put it simply, winning the League championship is important, but there's another key point. You need to win beautifully."
"First, so skills have perfect-guard chanics, such as Quick Guard. If you practice them well, you can absolutely create monts that players will record and replay for years."
Carl paused before continuing.
"Second, the real-ti combo system allows Pokémon to perform dazzling, spectacular combo sequences."
As he spoke, Carl pointed at Lucario, who had recovered so stamina and stood up again.
"Your Pokémon has a signature move called Aura Sphere. Normally, it's a move that deals instant damage. But what if you poured more power into it and made it linger in midair for a while?"
The mont Carl gave this example, the Saintess's eyes lit up.
The Saintess herself was a powerful spellcaster, so of course she understood what Carl ant. She imdiately gave Lucario a command.
"Lucca! First, pour enough power into Aura Sphere. Imagine it becoming heavy. Don't rush. Follow my guidance."
The advantage of having a Pokémon Trainer who actually understood magic beca clear at once. When the Saintess's Lucario began condensing a special Aura Sphere under her guidance, the Saintess could also step in and subtly use her own magic to help Lucario grasp the feeling.
Finally, Lucario truly unleashed a move that would make people wonder, "Is that even legal?"
A huge Aura Sphere drifted forward at a slow, steady speed. The training post it touched was instantly blasted backward by its imnse destructive force.
"Don't just stand there in shock. Miss Player, have your Lucario try to knock the enemy back into the Aura Sphere's range." Carl had not expected his idea to actually succeed.
But creating a slow-moving Aura Sphere was only the beginning.
"Knock it back? Lucca, do it!" The Saintess imdiately gave the command.
But Lucario's movent was still a step too slow. In that brief mont of hesitation, the post had already fallen to the ground, aning the combo could not be continued.
"Don't be discouraged. Let's try again."
The Saintess realized that the move Carl was teaching her might not offer any real damage advantage, even if she mastered it.
But it was cool.
If this combo succeeded, it would be a dream sequence powerful enough to make the entire stadium erupt.
As long as it looked cool, that was enough.
During this period, the Saintess had co to understand sothing. As a banner character, and as a future champion, her duty was to make the spectators cheer.
A spectacular performance was also an essential part of Pokémon battles.
(To be continued.)
User Comments
0 comments from readers