Funny thing, if you trace this all the way back, the real start of this "Passerby" business wasn't today at all. It began… what, a day and a night ago? Right around the ti Cynthia picked up that call from the archaeology team.
The sun that day was the kind that makes you lazy. It slanted through spotless restaurant windows and hit the oak table like soone had poured warm honey across it.
Kairos was halfway through a quiet al, the last bits of sauce already scraped from the plate. Texas style ribs, gone. Not a bone left.
(/n: I want so ribs, (っˆڡˆς) )
He'd hired one of those chefs with the kind of reputation that makes food critics cry mid-bite. The man wasn't cheap, but worth it. The food was good. Actually, scratch that—it was great.
Even so, Kairos had the sneaking suspicion he might cook better himself.
Maybe it was arrogance. Or maybe just the truth.
If he hadn't stumbled into this whole "system" ss, he could've opened a little restaurant sowhere. A small sign, late hours, regulars who call him "boss." Yeah, not a bad life.
He laughed under his breath. Too late now. The system had chosen him, and apparently, his destiny was ga developnt.
His gaze drifted down the table.
Chandelure's red flas flickered softly, giving off a faint tick tick sound, like a candle thinking too hard. One tendril of light coiled around a pork rib and lifted it delicately toward its mouth. Across from it, Gengar was being, well, Gengar. Half his head was buried in a special bowl, scarfing down Ghost-type energy food like soone might take it away.
Ever since those two had tried his cooking, pokéblocks had basically lost all appeal. If it wasn't made by Kairos, they didn't want it.
He gave up arguing. Balanced nutrition, probably.
(Probably.)
"Chande-lure!" The ghost floated in a small circle, its flas dancing in a rhythm that looked suspiciously like excitent.
The aning was obvious enough.
Let's go out. The weather's perfect.
Before he could answer, a round light green face shot up from the other bowl, Gengar rolled his eyes so hard they practically squeaked and grumbled sothing that sounded like, "Kekeke, Keke!"
If you translated that (and Kairos could, sort of), it was probably:
This guy! So strong, yet all he thinks about is playing! No ambition! No vision!
Then, with the righteous indignation of soone making a point, Gengar went right back to eating.
Definitely not because the food was too good to stop. No, no. He was "conserving energy." Sure. By shoveling food into his mouth until his cheeks looked like stuffed balloons.
Kairos couldn't help grinning. Teaching that one anything about ga design would have to wait. So days you pick your battles.
He stood and brushed his fingers across Chandelure's fla crown—it felt cool, but alive. "Go on," he said. "Just stay out of trouble."
The ghost let out a pleased hum and floated straight through the wall, leaving faint traces of red light in its wake.
Kairos turned back toward the study. His new computer glowed softly when he powered it up.
Login. Backend system. And there it was, a number that made him sit up straight.
[Current Sales Volu: 116,402!]
Not bad. Tens of thousands in a single day. The promo campaign was paying off.
He switched tabs, checking the New Ga Festival rankings.
Erald glead at the top of the charts, Most Popular and Total Sales both, each badge shining like a dal.
"Perfect," he muttered. Expected, yes, but seeing it was still its own kind of thrill.
With a flicker, the system overlay appeared.
[Main Mission: Rookie Champion (S)]
Requirent: First place at the New Ga Festival.
Reward: Emotion Points, advanced modules, fancy loot—he skimd the rest.
His first big mission. Less than two weeks to go until the final tally.
Erald had already demolished most of its competition. Second place was limping behind at half the numbers. The only na worth worrying about now was Dream Factory. Their new ga hadn't started its full promo push yet.
But soon. He could feel it.
He scrolled further.
[Side Mission: Sales King (S-rank)]
Goal: 300,000 sales in fifteen days.
Progress: 116,402.
Reward: Item chest, Invitation Card, Shock Points.
Plenty of ti. Two weeks ant he could hit that easily, especially if the festival ended with Erald still on top. The post-event traffic alone could double his numbers overnight.
What really caught his eye, though, was that Invitation Card.
He'd been saving that in his mind for one purpose: wtwo.
He wondered, was wtwo even born yet? The thought brought a ripple of childhood excitent, the kind that doesn't quite fade even when you've grown cynical.
At the bottom, another glowing box pulsed faintly:
[Continuous Mission: Pocket Empire (SS-rank)]
Goal: 100,000 registered users on the Pocket League forum.
Current: 25,600.
Ultimate goal: 1,000,000 hype value.
(Current: 1,100. Ouch.)
Kairos leaned back and cracked his neck.
Not bad progress, twenty-five thousand new users in a single day. The community was forming fast. Embedding the forum right into the ga had clearly worked.
But still, one million hype points? That was… ambitious.
He half-wondered if the system dread bigger than he did.
He opened the forum anyway.
Instant noise. Colorful posts everywhere, each more chaotic than the last.
[Newbie SOS! Just left town and got crushed by a random Poochyena!]
[Found a shiny Zigzagoon! Is this a bug?? Pics inside!]
[Torchic vs Mudkip vs Treecko: settle it once and for all.]
[Petalburg Gym door bug?! I've circled the building three tis!!]
[SAVE YOUR GA. I didn't, and an NPC wiped my whole team. I'm crying.]
It was pure, ssy joy. Confused first-tirs bumping into the edges of a world they didn't know yet. Kairos smiled without aning to.
They reminded him of himself, back when he'd first stepped into that pixelated world full of monsters and dreams. Back when discovery ant everything.
And then, ding, a system alert snapped him out of it.
[New Side Mission: Streaming Advancent (S)]
Reach 500,000 concurrent viewers.
Rewards: The usual pile of points and treasures.
"Half a million?" he repeated aloud. "Guess we're going big."
It had been ages since his last stream. He'd been buried in debugging and polishing. But sure, why not? He'd had a vague idea brewing anyway.
He checked the player stats.
…Wait, no one had beaten the Fortree Gym yet? Not even the top players?
"Seriously?" He squinted at the leaderboard.
First place: Strawberry Ice Cream. Cynthia, of course.
Still stuck at the Weather Institute. "Close, though," he murmured. That gave him breathing room; no need to rush new content today.
He could stream instead.
The reveal thing? Not a concern. Most viewers wouldn't guess who he really was. To them, he'd just be another gar trying out the hit of the month.
Decision made, he launched his streaming software.
The title was still set to "Ranked Climbing on Battle Road (F2P Style)."
Old habits.
Before he could even adjust it, notifications started blowing up the chat.
[Wait, the strear's LIVE?]
[No way. I thought he quit!]
[He's BACK, my youth is saved!!]
[Bro, why are you still playing Battle Road? Try Pokémon Erald already, it's number one at the festival!!]
[Yeah! Play Erald! You'll love it!]
[You just wanna see him suffer, lol.]
The viewer count rocketed: single digits, then thousands, then tens of thousands. Twenty thousand in seconds. Still climbing.
Kairos stared, blinking at the chaos of the chat.
He'd seen his channel blow up before, but not like this.
Whatever this was, it felt unreal.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones
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