Before anyone realized it, several days had passed since the massive Pokédex update.
During this ti, Snowhide Corporation continued to trickle out new Pokémon Ability updates.
However, after the initial explosion of interest, just updating minor traits wasn't enough to keep the users hooked.
At the end of the day, the initial hype was driven by those two mysterious Eevee silhouettes in the promo video.
Did they really co here to read about Abilities that don't even belong to their own Pokémon?
Sure, they could look, but a description is just a few lines of text. Even with a video demonstration, it takes thirty minutes to read the whole batch.
Who is going to log in every single day just for that?
They were there for the new Eevee evolutions, damn it!
But as the days dragged on with zero official news, the public's patience began to wear thin.
When the fuck are you going to show us?!
Are you keeping them as family heirlooms?
If you don't release the news soon, we're leaving. You really don't know your audience, do you?
Do you think a few 'niche' Abilities can hold our attention forever?
Publish it or fuck off!
Or... was it all a lie? Did you never actually discover a new evolution?
Was the silhouette in the video just a bait-and-switch to lure users onto your app?
Technically, you never 'said' you found a new Eevee, you just showed a shadow. Are we the idiots for assuming?
Hehe. If that's the case, we aren't leaving until we fla this company into the ground!
Driven by the paid trolls of rival corporations, the narrative shifted. People who were already skeptical began to feel like they'd been scamd.
At this point, people started looking back at User Q's comnts about "Researcher Lorze" with newfound respect.
He was a prophet!
A 'Genius Researcher'? What a joke. He's probably just a mascot pushed by Snowhide to farm engagent.
Why else would this 'genius' be too scared to show his face or reveal his real na?
He knows he's a fraud. He's hiding so he doesn't get ruined when the truth cos out.
Like company, like employee!
User Q didn't miss this chance to kick them while they were down. He began aggressively @-ing "Totodile-Fan" and "Researcher Lorze" to co out and answer for their "cris."
Totodile-Fan, who had been Lorze's biggest defender, had gone quiet.
Truthfully, he had taken his Totodile to a professional center and confird it did have the Sheer Force Ability.
Lorze's research was 100% accurate. Even if he used a Ralts to "cheat," he was still contributing more to the world than anyone else.
Why are people being so toxic to a man who actually helped them?
Totodile-Fan didn't understand the vitriol, but he knew that in this climate, anything he said would just draw more fire. He chose to stay silent.
He sighed, closed the app, and went back to training his partner. Out of sight, out of mind.
But at that exact mont, every single user logged into the Pokédex app received a system-wide popup.
The cover of the popup was the iconic Eevee silhouette from the video.
And over the silhouette was a glowing, one-hour countdown tir.
Totodile-Fan froze, his eyes widening. Then, a surge of pure joy hit him.
Is this it? The reveal?!
Snowhide actually HAS a new Eevee!
Realizing this, the paid trolls stopped their typing mid-sentence. The ordinary users stopped their complaining.
Everyone stared at the tir, refreshing their screens, terrified they were hallucinating.
Is it finally coming?
No more bait?
Why the hell did you wait until we were all screaming at you to release it?! This company is sadistic!
User Q was dumbfounded. Where the fuck did a new Eevee co from?
It's gotta be a fake!
He had deliberately waited for days, watching Snowhide "struggle," before joining the mob to ensure he wouldn't look stupid.
You... you predicted my prediction?!
Wait... even if they had a new Pokémon, he wasn't ruined yet.
His main argunt was that "Researcher Lorze" was a talentless clout-chaser who would never discover anything else.
He hadn't technically said the silhouette was fake—other people said that!
Okay, good. I'm still safe. I almost had a heart attack...
As the tension in the digital air reached a breaking point, screenshots of the countdown flooded every social dia platform on the web.
Users who had deleted the app in a huff frantically re-downloaded it, everyone counting down the seconds together.
The hour finally ended.
In its place appeared a video link.
The title: "The Pokémon Brighter Than the Sun — Espeon!"
Espeon?
What a badass na!
Wait... is that the red-haired Goddess on the thumbnail?
HOLY SHIT, IT'S GODDESS XUE TONG!
Snowhide actually has Xue Tong on the payroll?!
I'm never deleting this app again. Snowhide for life!
The video began. It featured an outdoor arena.
Xue Tong was standing across from a stunning, mixed-race girl (Anna Lee).
The girl had already released her Pikachu, but Xue Tong didn't move. Instead, she addressed the cara with the poise of a world-champion.
"Eevee is a miracle of biological evolution. We all know its genetic code is unstable, easily molded by external energy, resulting in its many forms."
"Like many of you, I wondered if it had an evolution for every one of the 17 types. Yet, officially, we have only known of five—the ones triggered by the primary Evolution Stones."
"But there are more than five types of stones. Why hasn't anyone used them for testing?"
"They have. Many tis."
"In fact, most research institutes have known of two more forms for years. They just could never figure out how to trigger the transformation."
"The requirents for these forms were far more complex than a simple stone. They required a breakthrough in fundantal Pokémon Science."
"Supported by the revolutionary theories of our Genius Researcher, Lorze, the Snowhide Corporation has finally achieved the impossible."
"One of those results is currently in my hand. We have nad it... Espeon!"
Under the gaze of millions, Xue Tong used her own human psychic powers to flick a Poké Ball into the air.
With a sharp POP, a Pokémon the world had never seen materialized on the field.
The pink figure was small and elegant, its graceful posture radiating an aura of nobility.
But the real shock? The Espeon was levitating several inches off the ground!
Wait... is that a Psychic-type?!
Eevee was dirt cheap. Did this an the average person now had a budget-friendly path to a high-tier Psychic type?!
The realization hit the internet like a tidal wave.
Screenshots of the elegant pink cat flooded every platform, drawing in a record-breaking amount of traffic for the Snowhide app.
Mother Xue's smirk reached its absolute limit.
But amidst the global celebration, everyone seed to have missed one crucial detail.
Only Totodile-Fan noticed.
Goddess Xue Tong just said... the Espeon was only possible because of LORZE'S research.
Hey, you! 'User Q'!
Didn't you say Lorze would never have another discovery?
What was that about a livestream?
"YOU THERE? GET OUT HERE AND EAT SO SHIT!!!"
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